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(Columbia  SJnibersttg 

STUDIES  IN  COMPARATIVE  LITERATURE 


THE  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE 
IN  ENGLAND 


Of  this  -volume  in  the  Series  of  Columbia  University  Studies  in 
Comparative  Literature , Seventy-five  Copies  have  been 

printed  on  large  paper  for  private  distribution. 


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THE 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE 
IN  ENGLAND 

STUDIES 

BY 

LEWIS  EINSTEIN 


Nefo  flotk 

THE  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1902 


All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1902, 

By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped  March,  1902. 


Ncrbjootj 

J.  8.  CuBhing  & Co.  — Berwick  A Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


TO 


fHu  jFatfjer  anti  Jfig  fflctijcr 


PREFACE 


The  history  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  in  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  outside  of  Italy  still  remains  a subject 
half  unexplored.  No  account  has  as  yet  been  written 
of  the  successive  steps  by  which  Italian  culture  crossed 
the  Alps,  the  different  directions  it  took,  and  the 
extent  of  its  influence.  The  purpose  of  these  studies 
is,  therefore,  to  supply  a link  in  the  chain,  and 
trace  the  Italian  influence  in  England  from  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  until  the  death  of 
Elizabeth.  Separate  aspects  of  this  have,  it  is  true, 
been  treated  by  others.  Beginning  with  Warton  and 
Nott,  a number  of  scholars  have  searched  especially 
for  the  Italian  sources  of  English  poetry.  Although 
in  recent  years  most  work  of  this  kind  has  been  ac- 
complished in  Germany,  Miss  Scott’s  contribution  to 
a similar  subject  ought  not  to  pass  unnoticed  in  the 
scholarly  annals  of  our  own  country.  No  serious 
effort  has,  however,  been  made  to  discover  a common 
impulse  running  through  the  Italian  influences  in  Eng- 
land : to  find  at  the  university,  at  court,  and  among 
the  people  at  large,  in  different  and  even  opposite 
directions,  the  results  of  one  and  the  same  great 

vii 


movement. 


PREFACE 


viii 

In  all,  three  stages  can  be  discerned  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Italian  influence  in  England  during  the 
period  of  the  Renaissance.  The  first,  extending  to 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  found  a centre  at  the 
University  of  Oxford.  It  succeeded,  after  several 
attempts,  in  introducing  the  new  classical  and  scien- 
tific learning  of  Italy  into  England,  and  thereby  laid 
the  foundation  for  all  future  English  scholarship.  The 
second  and  third  epochs  embrace  respectively  the  two 
halves  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  growth  of  Italian 
culture  at  court  marked  the  former;  it  flourished 
there  under  royal  protection,  and  assisted  in  creating 
the  new  types  of  accomplished  courtier  and  learned 
traveller,  often  the  same  individual  under  different 
aspects.  The  third  and  last  period  witnessed  a great 
extension  of  the  Italian  influence,  as  it  spread  gradu- 
ally from  the  court  to  the  people  at  large.  At  the 
same  time,  the  moral  and  national  reaction  against 
Italy,  which  was  further  fostered  by  the  growth  of 
Puritanism,  put  an  end  to  much  of  this  influence. 

These  studies  have  been  divided  into  two  groups. 
The  first  is  concerned  mainly  with  the  Englishman  as 
affected  by  Italy  in  scholarship,  court  life  and  travel, 
and  later  with  the  movement  against  Italian  influence. 
The  second  treats  rather  of  the  Italians  in  England, 
— merchants  and  artists,  reformers  and  adventurers. 
Allusions  of  many  kinds  must  necessarily  creep  into 
any  work  attempting  to  cover  so  wide  a range.  Such, 


PREFACE 


IX 


however,  as  refer  to  the  historical  and  religious  rela- 
tions existing  between  Italy  and  England  have  so  far 
as  possible  been  omitted.  Politics  and  religion  in 
the  sixteenth  century  were  everywhere  very  closely 
connected,  and  the  Anglo-Italian  relations  of  this 
nature  belong  more  properly  to  a history  of  the 
Reformation.  Only  so  far  as  they  may  have  in- 
fluenced English  life  and  culture  have  they  been 
mentioned  here. 

It  may  seem  idle  to  rehearse  the  Italian  influence 
in  English  literature,  so  much  research  has  already 
been  expended  on  it.  The  labors  of  scholars  on  this 
subject,  however,  have  never  before  been  brought 
together.  Several  new  ideas  and  suggestions  will  per- 
haps add  some  further  novelty  to  what  might  other- 
wise seem  of  familiar  interest  to  the  specialist. 

Most  of  the  illustrations  are  from  prints  in  the 
British  Museum,  reproduced  here  for  the  first  time. 
The  portraits  of  Wyatt  and  Surrey  by  Holbein  are, 
however,  from  the  well-known  Windsor  Castle  collec- 
tion. The  tomb  of  Dr.  John  Yonge,  by  Torrigiano, 
formerly  in  the  Rolls  Chapel,  is  now  preserved  in  the 
museum  of  the  Record  Office  in  London,  and  the 
original  of  the  manuscript  letter  in  the  Duke  Hum- 
phrey correspondence  is  in  the  Royal  Library  at 
Munich. 

That  these  studies  are  not  more  incomplete  is  due 
to  the  aid  and  advice  of  many  friends.  Above  all,  the 


X 


PREFACE 


writer  wishes  to  express  his  gratitude  to  the  unfailing 
courtesy  and  kindness  of  the  officials  of  the  libraries 
in  which  he  worked,  especially  of  the  British  Museum, 
the  Record  Office  in  London,  the  Bodleian  at  Oxford, 
and  the  Archives  of  Florence.  Lastly  he  desires  to 
thank  Professor  Donati  of  Siena,  Professor  Pasquale 
Villari  of  Florence,  Monsignor  Giles  of  the  English 
College,  Rome,  Mr.  Bliss  of  Rome,  Mr.  Horatio  F. 
Brown  of  Venice,  Mr.  Sidney  Colvin  of  the  British 
Museum,  Professor  Charles  Waldstein  of  King’s  Col- 
lege, Cambridge,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Blashfield,  his  sister, 
Miss  Amy  Einstein,  Mr.  Henry  A.  Uterhart  of  New 
York,  and  Dr.  John  G.  Underhill  of  Brooklyn.  In 
particular  he  wishes  to  thank  Dr.  J.  E.  Spingarn  of 
Columbia  University  for  aid,  which  has  at  all  times 
proved  valuable,  and  Professor  G.  E.  Woodberry  for 
his  ever  kindly  criticism  and  advice  extending  over 
a period  of  years. 

New  York, 

January  2,  1902. 


CONTENTS 

PART  FIRST 
CHAPTER  I 
The  Scholar 

PAGE 

Italy  and  Oxford I 

Duke  Humphrey  and  his  Circle 3 

Duke  Humphrey  as  a Patron  of  Oxford  ....  7 

Thomas  Beckynton  and  his  Friends 12 

Early  English  Scholars  in  Italy 14 

The  First  Oxford  Group  . . . . . . . 17 

John  Free’s  Letters  from  Italy 21 

The  First  “ Italianate  Englishman  ” . . . . .24 

The  New  Generation  .' . 29 

Grocyn  and  Linacre  in  Italy 30 

Grocyn  and  Linacre  in  England 33 

Humanism 39 

More  as  a Friend  of  the  New  Learning  ....  43 

Colet’s  Debt  to  Italy 45 

Types  of  Scholars 47 

Churchmen  and  Letters 51 

The  Literary  Patron  of  the  Renaissance  ....  53 

CHAPTER  II 
The  Courtier 

The  New  Court  Life 58 

The  Question  of  the  Gentleman 61 

Democratic  Feeling  in  the  Sixteenth  Century  ...  65 

xi 


CONTENTS 


xii 


PAGE 


The  Perfect  Man  .... 

68 

Sport  in  the  Renaissance  . 

69 

Treachery  and  Quarrels  . 

73 

Masks  at  Court  .... 

76 

Italian  Fashions  in  England 

79 

The  New  Code  of  Manners 

81 

Renaissance  Platonism 

83 

The  Theory  of  Love  .... 

84 

The  “New  Woman  ” 

86 

The  Courtier  as  a Diplomat 

90 

The  Courtier  as  a Scholar 

92 

The  Ideal  of  Arms  and  Letters  . 

93 

The  Art  of  War  .... 

95 

Italian  at  the  English  Court 

97 

The  New  Study  of  Italian  . . 

99 

Italian  Courtesy  Books  . . . 

107 

The  Influence  of  Italy  in  Court  Life  . 

109 

The  Courtier  Poet  .... 

hi 

The  New  Education  of  Women 

112 

CHAPTER  III 
The  Traveller 


The  First  Accounts  of  Italy 115 

The  New  Traveller 1 17 

The  Two  Streams  of  Travel 120 

The  Art  and  Theory  of  Travel 123 

The  Advantages  of  Travel 126 

The  Englishman  in  Italy 130 

Travellers’  Expenses 132 

The  Interest  in  Antiquity 134 

Impressions  of  Rome 136 

Italian  Traits 140 

The  Admiration  of  Venice 143 

The  Florentines 145 

Interest  in  Architecture 147 


CONTENTS 


xiii 


PAGE 

English  Appreciation  of  the  Arts 148 

Italian  Spectacles 150 

A Papal  Procession 15 1 

The  Traveller’s  Observations 153 


CHAPTER  IV 
The  Italian  Danger 


The  New  Nationalism 155 

The  Hatred  of  Foreigners 156 

The  Danger  of  Italy 157 

The  “ Italianate  Englishman  ” ......  161 

The  Crusade  against  Italy 166 

Italian  Adventurers  . . . . . . , .168 

The  Subtlety  of  Italians  . . . . . , .169 

The  Decay  of  Italian  Influence 173 


PART  SECOND 

CHAPTER  V 

f 

The  Italians  in  England: 

Churchmen, 

Artists,  and  Travellers 

Italians  in  Mediaeval  England  . 

• 179 

Italians  at  the  Court  of  Henry  the  Seventh 

. 181 

Henry  the  Eighth  .... 

. 185 

Italian  Physicians  at  Court 

. 188 

Italian  Books  in  England  . 

. 190 

The  Florentine  Sculptors  . 

• 193 

Henry  the  Eighth  as  a Patron  of  Artists 

. 196 

The  Italian  Influence  in  Art 

. 200 

English  Art  Collectors 

. 205 

Italian  Reformers  .... 

. 207 

The  Italian  Church  in  London  . 

• 2I3 

The  Venetian  “ Relations  ” 

• 2I5 

Italian  Opinions  of  England 

. 216 

XVI 


CONTENTS 


FAGR 

Italy  and  the  Drama 365 

Shakespeare’s  Italy 369 

APPENDIX  A 
English  Catholics  in  Rome 

Early  Pilgrims 373 

English  Catholics  in  Italy 374 

The  English  College 379 

Plots  and  Conspiracies 381 

Protestants  in  Italy 384 

APPENDIX  B 

English  Accounts  of  Italy  in  the  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury   386 

APPENDIX  C 

Italian  Accounts  of  England  in  the  Sixteenth 

Century 388 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.  Manuscript  Sources 391 

II.  Printed  Sources 393 

III.  Works  of  Reference 405 

INDEX 41 1 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Sir  Thomas  Wyatt  by  Holbein,  from  the  Windsor  Castle 

collection Frontispiece 

Letter  of  Pier  Candido  Decembrio  to  Duke  Humphrey  of 
Gloucester,  from  a manuscript  in  the  Royal  Library, 


Munich 6 

Thomas  Linacre,  from  a drawing  in  the  Print  Room, 

British  Museum 36 

John  Florio,  from  an  engraving  by  William  Hole  . . 102 

The  Earl  of  Leicester  by  Zuccaro,  from  a drawing  in  the 

Print  Room,  British  Museum no 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi  by  Isaac  Oliver,  from  a draw- 
ing in  the  Print  Room,  British  Museum  . . . 148 


The  Tomb  of  Dr.  John  Young  by  Torrigiano,  formerly  in 
the  Rolls  Chapel,  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Record 
Office,  London 192 

Medal  of  Queen  Mary  by  Jacopo  Trezzo.  Medal  of  Mary 


Queen  of  Scots  by  Jacopo  Primavera  ....  204 

The  Earl  of  Surrey  by  Holbein,  from  the  Windsor  Castle 

collection 324 

Sir  John  Harington  by  Thomas  Coxon  ....  356 


xvn 


. 


. 


THE  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE 
IN  ENGLAND 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  SCHOLAR 
I 

The  influence  of  Italy  on  English  learning  during  the 
Renaissance  differed  in  several  respects  from  that  exer- 
cised by  the  other  European  nations.  It  was  first  in 
the  field,  and  for  that  reason  long  single  in  its  power. 
Its  individual  influence,  moreover,  proved  the  greatest 
factor  in  modifying  existing  intellectual  conditions, 
while  it  supplemented  the  entire  mediaeval  fabric  of 
learning  by  the  new  system  it  had  itself  originated. 

Commencing,  virtually,  about  1425,  a gradual  devel- 
opment took  place  in  English  scholarship  till  by  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Italian  intellectual 
life  was  beginning  to  enter  on  a decline,  its  lessons 
had  been  mastered.  Fifty  years  later,  learning  in  Italy 
had  become  a tradition  rather  than  an  actuality.  Al- 
though scholars  were  plentiful,  and  foreign  students 
still  attended  its  universities,  the  reasons  which  in- 
duced them  to  study  there  were  no  longer  purely 
scholarly.  In  the  intellectual  life  of  England  at  that 
time,  such  foreign  elements  as  existed  owed  their  origin 


B 


1 


2 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


to  several  nations,  no  one  of  which  could  claim  ex- 
clusive supremacy.  It  is  thus  possible  to  limit  to  a 
definite  period  of  time  the  Italian  influence  on  English 
scholarship  in  the  Renaissance.  During  this  period  its 
course  can  be  traced  without  unnecessary  subtleties. 
The  field  can  be  narrowed  still  further  by  remembering 
that  during  the  fifteenth  century  in  England,  learning 
was  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  universities,  and 
to  churchmen  who  for  the  most  part  had  received 
their  education  in  colleges.  Lastly,  intellectual  ac- 
tivity centred  almost  exclusively  around  Oxford.  Al- 
though learned  men  lived  elsewhere  as  well,  they  appear 
rather  as  isolated  individuals  than  members  of  the  great 
movement  then  preparing  the  way  for  the  reception  of 
the  new  learning  in  England.  In  studying,  therefore, 
the  history  of  the  university  and  of  its  friends  and 
patrons  during  that  period,  one  might  almost  be  said 
to  witness  the  intellectual  life  of  an  entire  nation  con- 
densed and  focussed  at  one  point.  Oxford,  in  itself, 
thus  affords  an  insight  into  the  scholarly  history  of  the 
English  Renaissance  from  its  beginnings  in  the  decay 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  first  desire  arose  to  share 
in  the  benefits  of  the  new  learning  rediscovered  by 
Italians,  until  the  time  when  humanism  was  no  less 
firmly  established  in  England  than  it  had  been  in 
Italy. 

II 

The  Middle  Ages  had  looked  upon  learning  pri- 
marily as  the  handmaid  to  theology.  In  the  Renais- 
sance, on  the  other  hand,  it  was  regarded  as  a guide 


THE  SCHOLAR 


3 


to  the  conduct  of  life.  This  difference  in  conception 
brought  about  the  new  idea  in  education  which  was  to 
take  the  place  of  the  encyclopaedic  teachings  of  the 
church.  The  transition  from  one  system  to  the  other 
meant  an  entire  revolution  in  methods  of  instruction. 
A decline  came  over  the  mediaeval  fabric  of  learning ; 
the  old  trivium  and  quadrivium  were  done  away  with, 
and  studies  which  formerly  had  seemed  of  great  im- 
portance were  now  either  neglected  or  dropped 
entirely. 

The  questions  which  once  agitated  men  now  gave 
way  to  new  ones.  More  and  more  it  was  felt  that  the 
scholastic  training,  out  of  harmony  with  actual  condi- 
tions, furnished  no  longer  adequate  preparation  for  life. 
In  the  early  years  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the 
lowest  depths  of  intellectual  torpor  had  been  reached 
in  England,  the  efforts  of  a single  man  were  to  bring 
about  a great  change  and  introduce  new  rays  of  light. 
In  Duke  Humphrey  of  Gloucester,  son  of  Henry  the 
Fourth,  and  in  the  cultivated  circle  of  his  friends,  the 
intellectual  hopes  of  his  country  were  centred.  His 
career  is  of  interest  to  the  literary  student,  not  only  as 
the  first  conspicuous  English  example  of  the  Italian 
princely  patron  and  lover  of  learning,  but  as  the  bene- 
factor of  a great  university,  the  collector  of  classical 
manuscripts,  and  the  correspondent  and  protector  of 
learned  Italians  who  dedicated  their  works  to  him, 
many  of  whom  even  visited  him  in  England. 

Duke  Humphrey’s  first  aim  as  a patron  of  letters  was 
to  surround  himself  with  a circle  of  scholars.  Among 


4 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


his  English  proteges  were  Pecock,  Capgrave,  and  Lyd- 
gate, who  translated  from  Boccaccio.  His  efforts  were 
also  directed  to  bringing  over  from  Italy  some  of  the 
younger  humanists  to  instruct  him  in  the  ancient  poets 
and  orators,1  while  at  the  same  time  he  maintained  a 
correspondence  with  the  greater  men  who  could  not  be 
tempted  to  cross  the  Alps.  Tire  scholars  he  induced 
to  come  over  translated  the  classics  for  his  benefit. 
Lapo  da  Castiglionchio  brought  with  him  as  a fitting 
recommendation  a number  of  renderings  from  the 
Greek.  Antonio  Beccaria  of  Verona,  who  had  been 
one  of  Vittorino  da  Feltre’s  pupils,  was  later  regu- 
larly employed  by  the  duke  as  a translator,2  while  Tito 
Livio  of  Forli  even  styled  himself  the  “Poet  and  Orator 
of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester.”  Although  the  records  of 
this  early  period  are  scanty,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  Duke  Humphrey,  in  gratifying  his  own  cultivated 
tastes,  was  also  trying  to  create  in  England  a revival  of 
letters  by  employing  the  only  means  possible,  since 
Italy  was  then  the  intellectual  centre  of  Europe  — the 
introduction  into  England  of  Italian  scholars  and 
scholarly  methods.  At  a time,  moreover,  when  patrons 
were  a necessity  to  every  literary  man,  the  “ good 

1 “ Huic  tanta  litterarum  est  cura  ut  ex  Italia  magistros  asciverit 
Poetarum  et  oratorum  interpretes.” — Aineas  Sylvius,  Epist.  105. 
Vide  also  Epist.  64,  Dec.  5,  1443,  Letter  to  Duke  Sigismund  of 
Austria. 

2 “ C’est  livre  est  a moy  Homfrey  Due  de  Glocestre,  lequel 
je  fis  translater  de  Grec  en  Latin  par  un  de  mes  secretaires, 
Antoyne  de  Beccaria  de  Verone.”  — Cited  in  Ellis,  Letters  of 
Eminent  T.iterary  APen,  Camden  Society,  1843,  P-  357- 


THE  SCHOLAR 


5 


Duke  ” acted  the  part  of  a Maecenas  to  the  humanists 
of  Italy.  Piero  del  Monte,  sent  to  England  as  collector 
of  the  papal  revenues,  dedicated  to  him  some  philosoph- 
ical dialogues.  The  Duke’s  attention  was  also  called  to 
the  new  translation  of  Aristotle’s  Ethics  by  Leonardo 
Bruno,  the  greatest  scholar  of  his  age,  which  pleased 
him  so  much  that  he  urged  Bruno  to  set  to  work  on  the 
Politics.  After  the  first  part  of  this  had  been  completed 
it  was  sent  to  London  with  a dedication  to  the  duke, 
but  this  was  withdrawn  when  his  acknowledgment  was 
delayed,  and  it  was  dedicated  afresh  to  Pope  Eugene 
the  Fourth.1  More  fortunate  were  his  relations  with 
another  humanist,  Pier  Candido  Decembrio,  who  offered 
him  a translation  of  the  first  five  books  of  Plato’s  Re- 
public, first  begun  by  Chrysoloras,  which  he,  continuing 
his  father’s  work,  had  at  last  completed.  The  docu- 
ments referring  to  this  affair  have  been  preserved, 
and  are  of  interest  as  illustrating  similar  negotiations 
between  the  scholar  and  his  patron.  The  Archbishop 
of  Milan  first  wrote  to  the  duke,  knowing  his  zeal  in 
behalf  of  learning ; having  heard  that  his  relations 
with  Leonardo  Bruno  had  come  to  naught,  he  wished 
to  inform  the  duke  that  an  opportunity  now  presented 
itself  in  the  translation  of  Plato’s  Republic  by  Pier  Can- 
dido, a humanist  versed  in  Greek  no  less  than  in  Latin. 

If  he  cared  for  wisdom  or  true  eloquence,  it  could  be  1 
found  in  this  book,  which  in  former  times  had  been  a 
favorite  with  Ambrose,  Jerome,  and  Augustine.2  His  ! 

1 Vespasiano  da  Bisticci,  Vite,  p.  437. 

2 Ms.  Royal  Library,  Munich.  Ms.  Lat.  222,  f.  113  et  siq. 


6 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


interest  having  been  aroused  by  the  bishop,  a corre- 
spondence began  between  duke  and  scholar,  which 
brought  out  the  interest  of  the  former  in  the  new  learn- 
ing of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  Pier  Candido  grace- 
fully alluded  to  the  fame  the  duke  enjoyed  in  Italy,  and 
how  much  his  efforts  had  accomplished  in  the  revival 
of  letters.  The  duke  was  evidently  very  proud  of  his 
patronage  of  scholars,  and  both  styled  himself  and  was 
addressed  as  litter atissimus}  He  received  at  first  but 
a portion  of  the  work,  and  in  acknowledging  this,  he 
urged  the  humanist  to  finish  the  remainder  as  speedily 
as  possible,  at  the  same  time  warmly  praising  the 
scholarship  displayed  in  the  translation.  To  this  en- 
couragement came  a reply,  written  in  the  true  style  of 
the  humanists.  Just  as  the  shade  of  a tree  was  pleasing 
to  the  weary  traveller,  as  the  gentle  breeze  was  welcome 
to  the  sailor,  and  the  crystal  spring  to  the  thirsty  man, 
so  were  his  letters  welcome  even  as  those  of  a great 
poet.  As  soon  as  he  [Pier  Candido]  heard' that  the 
learned  Aretine  [Bruno]  had  changed  his  dedication 
of  Aristotle  from  Humphrey  to  the  Pope,  he  at  once 
determined  to  celebrate  the  duke  in  no  inferior  man- 
ner, and  for  that  reason  had  selected  the  Republic  as 
in  itself  a great  work  and  one  of  benefit  to  rulers.  He 
compared  Humphrey  to  Julius  Caesar,  to  Octavius  and 
other  cultivated  princes  of  former  times  whose  names 
had  been  the  brighter  for  their  devotion  to  learning. 
For  this  reason  he  begged  him  to  accept  this  offering 
of  good  will  and  preserve  it  as  a comfort  in  his  own 
1 Ms.  cit.,  f.  246  et  seq. 


c'in£ut-,rp/e  bento ^ omrnu  vqitiTIrrnur TYtnl>iit-or 

P • mnCtL^  i>crr  mbnS  eu\  i llafrn  Pi  mu  or  1 1 rt’ilhfTT  - 
■ mti  jprrnri pern  >mn  bum  fr  velum  cl 1 1 tvrn  rfoi tevT 
iTX'nfcm  frofrem  IctVmPrrm  Vtmuictiffmu  derm 
m hetmn  re gfC OnpTiC  or  Jiipvi-  nouo  froth  irrm- 
Jinc  pTatnnrv  ftlmtvv rnnptp  ifpi/rofo 
I^eTrirr mwi  Apitci  i tnloCoTTrm f uijrutis 
tm*  frmui  prnrbiulh pi'rnrtpr.iiUirti'ifTi 
me  ita  nt'ufnc'tn  fnne  mrtm  cnvllcnti 
Am  OrrfVieP/iHTIvtfi'clpmN  neb'  mri  frfrnO  none  = 
rmt-  m(iv quoT tjTripuuftitO  ili^jrnfnfciS  lonciotm- 
ftub  t*f"0«irft>r  Kvuen  ciiPmui'S  jvih'r  biuotxnfif 
eptfeopu}'  net*  non  ioltim  OottrmA  Imrrnn  fi*H 
bnm^rn^rv- mnratv.  ct-obfeqiiio  rmHffifmoftii s 
icp  norms'  pnitjHH'r ttnwUiji^'Is  de  tnr 

tote-  til*  bnmomtzife  i>r  prii^Tifvl  nut  nobifrv 
Vultflct-  rum  minTrntntvimn  ^rfnlit-dilutVTifin 
eromorem  tnedmifrttiS  erjpr  ftudnl  lmrum-q =_ 
\*ri*  profvrtp  ijiliiclvTif*  qni  lx«iO?t7  tU'tiiT  IrniSif 
(blent  oblvetrtn  qt''  rfntv  rrm  non  on-mo  eXfmitn 
(m tr“ IrmuXei tin  jrnnpum  opfrrnoK.it  *0.1 1 rjpc  m tnltf 
n*lni-  fnenr- mlitf  oiujufbif^ mlcf multi  prcrlnri  nt  - 
nqiio^f  fhmsi  c(\r  mrmorfrlliS  ifoq^-  *rmn  mitlh  oc 
bnr^orut' OTnoze"  ttium  rvrfni-rm  ?p/T* 

rnpntms  huim  ornm  non-  ucrbiT rnnfiT  feC*  ope  - 
nbiif-’oflcqm  ronfedo-  ct'qniiV7'  opfmuy  cH>iqmfn - 
tv  tun  Of^firrr  firm  irphir  rritvlliywn  LePnUroirm 
timhnitm  ttinu l^rvrv  lotmcqj  Intern-  Cinf  inr 
dmim  a-nfrc’tx'ltl  polmotm  qtur  tno  norme  uertv  • 
cYim  /!YmpC*rut"  non  mi*  yvrvifcnfte  fc*<>  <'rn' noffn 
pope  /oiirtiroti  dirviifTe-troHm  jiomen  H»«7  per  fe 
/ohf iMnltrr  non  mfvrurri  mnnetv  \pcorn.m*  erpV 
rmiiitn  lotidcin  mom  pmVti ijT  evtolleiv ^felmf 
fifnC  icimnp  i;v  tfrcri f li rttnS  fro d« i lanx^M Hk»o 
III  poltMrmn  pvttornC pbilofopbi  ommu  Hon/ 
frrni  ef'iyfrv*llenhfTr»#i  qnnm  me  dig-nihnn  de^> 
roui  - quo  cjmiV  oge  ml  v'vrelU-nhwS  • ml  nfiliu«j 

t‘/ ' ■ 'A-e  ? V '<//// s/rr/r*  f-J  ers/r///’uV' 

/s/'  ^ J /s/i’ss ■ 


' - • ■ 


. 


‘ - 


■ ■ 


. 

■ 

THE  SCHOLAR 


7 


studies.  In  his  reply  the  duke  expressed  delight  at 
the  beauty  of  his  translation,  saying  he  knew  not 
whether  to  be  more  grateful  to  the  author  or  the 
scholar  whose  efforts  had  once  more  brought  it  to 
light  after  it  had  for  so  long  been  buried  from  view ; 
through  Candido  he  was  at  last  able  to  admire  Plato ; 
in  the  immortal  fame  which  awaited  this  labor  he 
wished  him  happiness.1  A considerable  amount  of 
miscellaneous  information  was  scattered  through  these 
letters ; the  duke,  for  instance,  was  told  of  Manuel 
Chrysoloras,  whose  work  had  made  possible  that  of  an 
Aretine  [Bruno]  and  a Veronese  [Guarino],  as  well  as 
of  many  others  who  now  were  laboring  when  but  a short 
time  before  there  had  been  none.  In  the  last  letter 
of  the  series,  the  scholar  bade  the  duke  farewell,  ad- 
dressing him  (perhaps  by  reason  of  his  dedication)  as 
Immortalis  Princeps .2 

Duke  Humphrey  had  studied  in  his  youth  at  Balliol, 
and  in  after  years  the  devotion  he  showed  his  university 
was  to  be  his  noblest  trait.  Oxford  about  that  time 
had  sunk  to  her  lowest  level.  Scholasticism  was  dom- 
inant, but  her  reputation  even  in  these  studies  was 
behind  that  of  Paris.  The  long  wars  with  France  and 
civil  strife  at  home  had  greatly  affected  all  scholarly 
pursuits.  For  a time  the  university  was  reduced  to 
the  greatest  misery,  and  the  ruin  of  education  seemed 
imminent.3  Scarcely  a thousand  students  remained  in 
her  ruined  halls,  and  those  who  studied  were  said  to 

1 Ms.  cit.,  f.  1 1 3.  2 Ibid.,  f.  248. 

8 Epistolve  Academics  Oxonienses,  I,  128. 


8 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


find  no  reward  awaiting  them  amid  the  poverty  and 
distress  of  the  nation.1  In  their  plight  appeals  were 
made  at  different  times  to  Thomas  Arundel,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,2  the  Duke  of  Bedford,3  and  others,  in- 
forming them  of  the  condition  they  were  in.  The  one 
truly  generous  patron  they  found  proved  to  be  Duke 
Humphrey  of  Gloucester.  Not  only  were  his  gifts 
of  books  of  great  assistance  to  them,  but  his  active 
support  in  the  defence  of  their  privileges  as  the  special 
protector  of  the  university  was  to  help  them  through  a 
period  of  virtual  anarchy.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  also  advocated  reforms  in  their  education.  At 
one  time,  indeed,  his  relations  with  them  appear  to 
have  been  somewhat  strained,  probably  on  account 
of  their  refusing  to  adopt  certain  innovations  he  had 
pressed.4 

In  first  advocating  the  new  Italian  humanism  in 
England,  Duke  Humphrey  proved  himself  far  in  ad- 
vance of  his  age.  The  time  was  not  yet  ripe,  however, 
although  general  dissatisfaction  existed  with  the  old 
scholastic  training  as  a valueless  preparation  for  life. 
The  credit  for  whatever  was  then  accomplished  in 
England  belongs  rightly  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester 
and  his  circle.  What  this  was,  as  well  as  the  practical 
purpose  of  the  new  humanism  he  introduced  from 
Italy,  can  perhaps  best  be  judged  from  a letter  written 
in  1444  by  Htneas  Sylvius  Piccolomini,  who  later 

1 Epist.  Acad.,  I,  154. 

2 Beckynton,  Correspondence,  I,  277. 

3 Epist.  Acad.,  I,  94.  4 Ibid.,  I,  64. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


9 


became  Pius  the  Second,  to  Adam  Mulin,  Bishop  of 
Chichester  and  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal : — 

“ I read  your  letter  with  eagerness,  and  wondered 
that  Latin  style  had  penetrated  even  into  Britain.  It 
is  true  that  there  have  been  amongst  the  English 
some  who  have  cultivated  the  eloquence  of  Cicero, 
amongst  whom  common  consent  would  place  the  Ven- 
erable Bede.  Peter  of  Blois  was  far  inferior,  and  I 
prefer  your  letter  to  any  of  his.  For  this  advance  all 
gratitude  is  due  to  the  illustrious  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
who  zealously  received  polite  learning  into  your  king- 
dom. I hear  that  he  cultivates  poets  and  venerates 
orators ; hence  many  Englishmen  now  turn  out  really 
eloquent.  For  as  are  the  princes,  so  are  the  people  ; 
and  servants  progress  through  imitating  their  masters. 
Persevere,  therefore,  friend  Adam.  Hold  fast  and  in- 
crease the  eloquence  you  possess ; consider  it  the 
most  honorable  thing  possible  to  excel  your  fellows  in 
that  in  which  men  excel  other  living  creatures.  Great 
is  eloquence ; nothing  so  much  rules  the  world.  Polit- 
ical action  is  the  result  of  persuasion ; his  opinion 
prevails  with  the  people  who  best  knows  how  to  per- 
suade them.”  1 

Numerous  letters  passed  between  the  duke  and  the 
university  during  the  many  years  in  which  he  defended 
its  privileges.  His  first  benefactions  had  begun  in 
the  early  years  of  the  fifteenth  century.  His  last 
were  to  be  almost  forty  years  afterward.  During 

1 Opera,  Epist.  LXIV;  cited  by  Creighton,  Early  Renais- 
sance, p.  19. 


IO  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

this  time  it  was  his  wisdom  alone,  the  authorities  wrote 
him,  which  had  revived  learning  and  enabled  scholars 
to  devote  themselves  to  it  with  fresh  energy.  It  was 
almost  a divine  inspiration,  they  added,  which  led  him 
to  revive  the  studies  of  philosophy  and  the  liberal 
arts ; they  only  trusted  he  would  provide  for  the  con- 
tinued maintenance  of  this  learning ; there  was  urgent 
need  for  books  and  money  to  carry  on  the  lectures  in 
science  and  philosophy  which  they  knew  enjoyed  his 
favor,  and  they  furthermore  requested  his  aid  in  pro- 
viding a permanent  foundation  for  these. 

From  time  to  time,  he  gave  them  the  books  they 
wanted,  and  assisted  them  in  other  ways  as  well. 
Many  letters  of  gratitude  were  written  him ; if  refine- 
ment of  life,  munificence  and  liberality,  it  was  said, 
could  confer  immortal  fame,  that  fame  would  be  his. 
It  was  in  vain  they  had  searched  the  records  of 
antiquity  : there  was  no  one  to  surpass  him  in  learning 
and  literary  culture ; nor  was  his  fame  confined  to 
England,  but  had  crossed  the  sea  and  the  Alps,  so 
that  among  all  the  Christian  princes  none  was  more 
renowned  for  his  knowledge  of  the  Greek  and  Italian 
writers.  Night  and  day  they  now  were  able  to  devote 
to  their  scholarly  tasks ; not  only  they  themselves, 
but  even  eloquent  and  learned  Italians  toiled  over  the 
work.  It  was  a pleasant  sight  to  see  the  number  of 
volumes  received  from  Greece  and  Italy.  Under  his 
patronage,  Greek  literature,  buried  for  so  many  centu- 
ries, had  again  come  to  life,  and  once  more  the  philoso- 
phers could  be  studied  in  their  original  tongue.  The 


THE  SCHOLAR 


II 


very  foundation  of  eloquence,  which  he  had  carried 
over  to  England  from  Italy  and  Greece,  would  be 
exhausted  in  the  effort  to  render  him  due  thanks.  If 
the  Latin  races  owed  him  this,  how  much  greater 
gratitude  ought  the  English  to  feel.  Previously  there 
had  been,  it  is  true,  a university  at  Oxford,  but  study 
there  was  none,  for^  there  were  no  books ; now,  how- 
ever, through  his  gifts,  they  too  could  discern  the  secrets 
of  learning.  Oxford  must,  therefore,  always  be  the 
home  of  his  glory  : if,  then,  the  Trojans  vaunted  their 
Hector,  the  Macedonians  their  Alexander,  the  Romans 
their  Caesar,  it  was  for  Oxonians  to  extol  Humphrey ; 
and  while  distant  rays  might  reach  the  students  of 
every  clime,  it  was  they  who  enjoyed,  so  to  speak,  the 
very  beams  of  the  sun  itself.1  However  great  the  ex- 
aggeration and  flattery  of  these  letters,  they  yet  show  a 
decided  zeal  for  learning,  and  the  beginnings  of  the  Re- 
naissance feeling  for  antiquity.  On  Duke  Humphrey’s 
part,  the  taste  was  encouraged  by  presenting  Oxford  at 
various  times  with  from  three  to  four  hundred  books, 
purchased,  for  the  most  part,  in  France  and  Italy. 
Among  these  were  the  writings  of  Petrarch  and  Boc- 
caccio, the  text  and  commentaries  of  Dante,  and  the 
great  writers  of  antiquity,  whose  works  had  been  re- 
discovered by  Italian  humanists.2  By  these  gifts,  it 
was  said,  from  having  been  almost  without  books,  the 
university  had  grown  rich.  Once  more  in  their  long- 
forgotten  majesty  the  ancient  tongues  had  been  re- 


1 Epist.  Acad.,  I,  203,  240. 

2 Vide  Munimenta  Academica,  Indentures  of  1439,  1444,  etc. 


12  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

vived,  and  everything  which  had  been  written  was  now 
accessible  to  students.1 

Around  Duke  Humphrey  were  grouped  the  other 
scholars  of  the  age  in  England.  His  prot£g£  was 
Thomas  Beckynton,  Bishop  of  Wells  and  a doctor  of 
laws  of  Oxford,  who  corresponded  also  with  many 
learned  Italians,  among  whom  were  Flavio  Biondo  of 
Forli,  Angelo  Gattola  and  Piero  del  Monte.  His 
letters  reveal  quite  a little  group  of  English  humanists, 
— such  men  as  Adam  Mulin,  Thomas  Chandler  and 
William  Grey.  Nicholas  Bildstone,  the  Archdeacon  of 
Winchester,  and  Richard  Pettworth,  the  secretary  to 
Cardinal  Beaufort,  were  also  among  the  few  English 
scholars  then  familiar  with  the  new  Italian  studies. 
Certain  other  foreigners  resident  in  England  should 
be  mentioned  as  well.  Simon  de  Taramo,  the  papal 
collector,  wrote  a letter  to  Duke  Humphrey  in  1427, 
full  of  the  new  Renaissance  spirit  of  humanism,  re- 
alizing the  duke’s  weakness  in  that  direction.2  The 
most  important,  however,  was  Vincent  Clement,  who, 
although  perhaps  a Spaniard  by  birth,  had  yet  been 
educated  in  Italy.  He  was  at  different  times  the  papal 
collector  in  England  and  Duke  Humphrey’s  orator  at 
Rome,  where  he  may  well  have  purchased  books  for 
Oxford.3  He  was  certainly  known  as  “ the  star  of  the 
university,”  and  in  all  probability  had  studied  there. 
Later,  King  Henry  the  Sixth  requested  that  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  divinity  be  conferred  on  him,  since  it  was 

1 Epist.  Acad.,  I,  244. 

2 Beckynton,  I,  283. 


3 Ibid. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


13 


intended  to  add  to  his  prestige  as  papal  proctor  at  the 
English  court.1  Various  indications  point  him  out  as 
a man  of  great  cultivation.  His  correspondence  with 
Thomas  Beckynton  was  full  of  classical  and  humanistic 
allusions,  as  for  example  when  the  latter  thanked  him 
for  a volume  of  poems  by  the  Italian,  Pontanus.2  In 
this  early  group  of  Clement  and  Beckynton,  Chandler 
and  Mulin,  the  first  indications  of  the  new  spirit 
brought  in  by  the  Italian  Renaissance  can  be  found 
in  England.  The  scholars  centred  around  Duke  Hum- 
phrey, who  acted  as  their  patron.  With  his  death, 
however,  in  1447,  the  first  period  of  English  humanism 
may  be  said  to  have  ended.  It  was  not  a great  age ; 
its  scholars  were  for  the  most  part  obscure  men,  whose 
names,  with  scarce  an  exception,  have  been  forgotten. 
Its  very  knowledge  of  Greek,  even  if  not  confined  to 
the  Italian  humanists  in  England,  probably  died  out. 
Nevertheless,  in  marking  the  first  stage  of  a new  move- 
ment, in  providing  the  foundation  on  which  succeeding 
generations  might  build,  in  evincing  a zeal  for  letters, 
the  age  deserves  a place  in  the  annals  of  English 
scholarship;  and  Duke  Humphrey’s  name,  perpetuated 
by  his  library,  should  live  for  the  encouragement  he 
gave  the  new  learning. 


1 Beckynton,  I,  223. 


* Ibid.,  I,  178. 


14  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


III 

Neither  the  scholarly  zeal  shown  by  certain  of  the 
great  English  churchmen,  nor  the  travels  of  such 
Italian  humanists  in  England  as  Poggio  and  y£neas 
Sylvius,  strictly  enter  the  new  scholarly  tradition 
which  from  the  first  had  centred  around  Oxford  and 
Duke  Humphrey.  In  the  succeeding  age,  beginning 
about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  chief 
progress  in  English  humanism  came  through  the  jour- 
neys of  university  students  to  Italy.  In  all  likelihood 
they  were  unaware  of  the  significance  of  the  move- 
ment they  had  started  afresh.  It  probably  seemed  to 
them  only  a continuation  of  the  mediaeval  migrations 
which  in  former  days  united  the  learned  world,  before 
the  feeling  of  the  intellectual  kinship  of  Europe 
had  disappeared  amid  the  struggles  of  rival  nations. 
During  the  Middle  Ages,  English  scholars  were  by 
no  means  unknown  in  Italy.  At  the  University  of_ 
Bologna  there  was  an  English  “nation,”  and  both 
Vicenza  and  Vercelli  had  English  rectors,1  while 
on  the  registers  of  Padua,  British  names  appear 
frequently.2 

The  Italian  humanists  assumed  at  first  a somewhat 
patronizing  attitude  toward  Englishmen,  which  was  not 
without  a certain  justification.  Thus,  although  Richard 

1 Rashdall,  Universities  of  Europe,  I,  157;  II,  14.  Vide 
Dallari,  Rotuli  di  Bologna. 

2 Andrich,  De  Natione  Anglica  . . . Universitatis  Patavince , 
p.  129. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


15 


de  Bury,  the  most  learned  man  of  his  day  in  all  Eng- 
land, had  met  Petrarch,  he  was  unable  to  grasp  his 
new  point  of  view  toward  the  classics,  which  revolu- 
tionized the  scholarly  world.  Much  later,  Leonardo 
Bruno  said  of  Thomas  of  England,  an  Augustinian 
monk  who  went  to  Florence  to  purchase  manuscripts, 
and  lectured  there  in  1395,1  that  he  keenly  loved  the 
new  Italian  humanism,  as  much  as  one  of  his  nation 
was  able  to  understand  it.2  Such  early  instances  of 
Englishmen  in  Italy  formed  part,  however,  of  the  great 
mediaeval  fabric  of  learning,  and  bore  no  direct  rela- 
tion to  the  new  age  soon  to  dawn.  In  spite  of  exam- 
ples like  Osbern  Bowkenham,  the  poet,  who  lived  five 
years  in  Venice,  or  even  of  Oxford  men  who  crossed 
the  Alps,  like  Master  Norton  in  1425  or  Master 
Bulkeley  in  1429, 3 not  till  later  can  one  feel  assured 
that  English  students  went  to  Italy  in  search  of  the 
new  learning. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  several 
Englishmen  were  studying  in  Italy.  One  of  these, 
well  known  for  his  love  of  the  classics,  and  in  whose 
veins  flowed  the  royal  blood  of  England,  was  Reynold 
Chicheley,  who  later  became  rector  of  the  University 
or  Ferrara,  where  he  had  studied.4  Andrew  Ols5 

1 Gherardi,  Statuti  della  Universila  e Studio  Fiorentino,  p.  364. 

2 “ Studiorum  nostrorum,  quantum  ilia  natio  capit,  ardentissi- 

mus  affectator.”  — Leon.  Bruni,  II,  18.  Cited  by  Voigt,  Wieder- 
belebung,  II,  258.  3 Epist.  Acad.,  II,  564. 

4 Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Venetian,  Vol.  VI,  Pt.  Ill,  1581. 

5 Could  his  name  have  been  Ellis?  All  that  is  known  of  him 
comes  through  Italian  sources,  and  English  names  became 


1 6 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


was  among  the  first  English  humanists  of  whom  any- 
thing at  all  is  really  known.  Like  most  scholars  of 
that  age,  he  occupied  a minor  church  preferment, 
although  he  never  sought  ecclesiastical  advancement. 
Most  of  his  life  was  devoted  entirely  to  the  cultivation 
of  letters.  His  appointment,  however,  as  royal  envoy 
to  the  Pope  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  pass  some 
time  in  Florence,  where  he  associated  with  the  learned 
set  which  had  gathered  around  Lorenzo  da  Medici. 
Among  the  friends  he  entertained  there,  were  Matteo 
Palmieri,  Giannozzo  Manetti  and  many  other  celebrities 
of  the  day.  It  was  noted  particularly  that  he  had 
abandoned  the  English  fashion  of  remaining  several 
hours  at  table  for  the  more  sober  Italian  manner  of 
living.1  The  main  purpose  of  his  Florentine  resi- 
dence was  to  have  certain  books  copied  there,  to  take 
back  with  him.  Like  all  lovers  of  learning  whose 
means  permitted,  he  was  a great  collector  of  manu- 
scripts. His  were  said  to  be  so  numerous  that,  as  it 
was  impossible  to  send  them  overland,  he  was  obliged 
to  wait  until  a ship  left  for  England.  A supply  of 
manuscripts  was,  however,  a necessity  at  a time  when 
printing  was  barely  known,  and  public  libraries  still  in 
their  infancy.  On  his  return,  he  retired  to  a living  in 
the  country,  and  there  in  the  seclusion  of  his  study 
passed  the  rest  of  his  life,  leaving  at  his  death  the 
manuscripts  he  had  collected  to  the  library  of  his 

curiously  twisted  when  pronounced  by  Italians : thus  Hawk- 
wood  became  V Ac-uto,  Southampton,  Antona. 

1 Vespasiano,  p.  238. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


17 


church.  His  gentler  nature,  with  its  grain  of  selfish- 
ness and  perhaps  of  scholarly  reserve,  felt  out  of  touch 
with  the  world  of  the  unlearned.  He  remained  content 
amid  his  bookish  surroundings,  feeling  unequal  or  un- 
willing to  preach  the  gospel  of  the  new  learning.  For 
this  reason  he  was  not  so  well  known  in  England  as  in 
Italy,  where  he  was  celebrated  alike  for  his  scholarly 
attainments  and  the  purity  of  his  life.  His  Florentine 
biographer,  Vespasiano  da  Bisticci,  who  knew  him  per- 
sonally, thought  that  few  foreigners  were  his  equals  in 
character  and  cultivation. 

The  small  band  of  scholars,  Grey,  Free,  Flemming, 
Gunthorpe  and  'J'iptoft,  who  now  crossed  the  Alps 
were  to  be  the  pioneers  of  the  new  movement.  It 
certainly  seems  more  than  a mere  coincidence  that 
they  were  all  Oxonians,  while  at  the  same  time  what- 
ever means  then  existed  in  England  to  acquire  the 
rudiments  of  humanism  were  only  to  be  found  at 
Oxford.  It  is  almost  natural  to  suppose  that  the 
mediaeval  traditions  of  the  university  had  in  part  been 
superseded  by  others  of  more  recent  growth,  and  that 
the  desire  for  learning  encouraged  by  the  facilities 
offered  by  Duke  Humphrey’s  library  brought  about 
these  new  conditions. 

The  reasons  which  drew  English  scholars  to  Italy 
are  not  hard  to  find.  The  new  spirit  of  the  Renais- 
sance, in  passing  over  the  Middle  Ages  and  going 
straight  back  to  antiquity,  had  effected  a revolution 
in  the  intellectual  world.  Italy  was  conscious  of  this 
discovery  long  before  the  rest  of  Europe  had  awak- 
c 


1 8 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

ened  to  it.  Italian  scholars  had  been  the  first  to  see 
the  ancient  world  in  its  true  light,  and  to  study  the 
classics,  not  as  allegorical  explanations  of  Christianity, 
but  from  the  literary  point  of  view.  The  Italian 
universities,  moreover,  were  then  eminent  above  all 
others ; philosophy,  natural  science,  medicine,  civil 
law  and  Greek,  elsewhere  almost  unknown,  flourished 
at  Padua  and  Bologna.  The  brighter  minds  at  Ox- 
ford, seeing  beyond  their  own  limited  horizon  and 
conscious  of  the  progress  in  Italy,  were  anxious  also 
to  take  part  in  this  advance. 

Beyond  the  fact  that  they  were  all  Oxonians,  the 
early  group  of  Englishmen  who  went  to  Italy  in 
search  of  the  new  humanism  possessed  other  traits 
in  common.  Excepting  Robert  Flemming,  all  were 
Balliol  men,  which  was  also  Duke  Humphrey’s  college. 
Excepting  Tiptoft,  Earl  of  Worcester,  they  were 
churchmen.  It  seems  likely,  too,  that  all  were  friends. 
One  last  point  of  resemblance  was  that  all  either 
studied  or  else  were  connected  with  the  famous 
Guarino  Veronese,  who  after  long  years  of  wandering 
had  at  length  settled  down  at  Ferrara,  and  was  con- 
ducting there,  under  the  protection  of  the  house  of 
Este,  the  most  celebrated  school  of  his  age.  His  fame 
was  then  on  the  lips  of  every  English  scholar ; his 
name,  it  was  said,  was  dear  to  all  Englishmen.  It  led 
John  Free  (better  known  as  Phreas),  almost  from 
another  world,  to  cross  strange  lands  and  unknown 
seas  to  seek  him  in  Italy.1  John  Tiptoft  likewise,  on 
1 Ms.  587  Bodleian,  f.  165  et  seq. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


19 


his  return  from  Palestine,  went  especially  to  Ferrara  to 
visit  the  aged  scholar.  Ludovico  Carbo,  in  his  funeral 
oration  on  the  dead  humanist,  also  bore  witness  to  the 
number  of  scholars  who,  regardless  of  all  difficulties, 
came  from  England  itself  to  hear  and  acquire  from  him 
a polished  elegance  ; 1 and  Battista  Guarino,  who  later 
continued  his  father’s  work,  wrote  proudly  that  students 
were  thronging  to  him  from  Britain  itself,2  which  was 
situated  in  the  furthest  confines  of  the  earth. 

William  Grey,  a connection  of  the  English  royal 
family,  was  his  first  scholar  of  note.  His  name  had 
already  appeared  in  Beckynton’s  correspondence, 
which  connects  him  with  Duke  Humphrey.  Carbo, 
in  the  funeral  oration  delivered  on  Guarino,  alluded 
to  Grey  as  one  well  able  to  bear  witness  to  the  great- 
ness of  the  dead  humanist.  Grey  had  begun  by  study- 
ing logic  and  theology  at  Cologne,  but  had  realized 
that  it  was  only  in  Italy  that  the  new  learning  could 
properly  be  pursued.  After  crossing  the  Alps,  his 
first  care  when  in  Florence  had  been  to  order  as  many 
books  as  were  there  to  be  purchased.  He  then  went 
to  Padua,  where  he  heard  of  Guarino’s  fame,  and  this 
took  him  to  Ferrara,  where  he  studied  under  the  master, 
living  at  the  same  time  in  princely  style,  and  maintain- 
ing Nicolo  Perotto,  then  a young  man,  as  a scholar 
in  his  own  household.  Henry  the  Sixth  appointed 

1 Cited  by  Leland,  De  Scriptoribus  Britannicis,  p.  462.  Vide 
Mattaire,  Annales  Typographici , I,  91. 

2 “ Ex  Britanniae  ipsa,  quae  extra  orbem  terrarum  posita  est.” 
— Vide  Voigt,  II,  261,  note. 


20 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


him  his  proctor  at  the  Curia,  and  later  Pope  Nicholas 
the  Fifth  selected  Grey  to  fill  the  vacant  bishopric 
of  Ely.  After  remaining  in  the  Royal  Council  until 
the  king’s  death,  he  retired  from  public  life  and 
passed  his  remaining  years  in  retirement,  leaving  his 
collection  of  manuscripts  to  Balliol.1  William  Grey 
was  among  the  first  great  English  churchmen  of  the  ( 
Renaissance  whose  interest  in  humanism  was  more  than 
a passing  fancy.  He  was  not  only  a keen  student 
himself,  but  his  great  wealth  permitted  him  to  follow 
Italian  examples  and  be  a patron  to  others  less  fortu- 
nate in  that  respect.  He  represented  a type  common 
enough  in  Italy,  where  learning  formed  so  large  a 
part  of  the  churchman’s  life,  where  no  prelate  con- 
sidered his  household  complete  without  scholars  in 
his  retinue,  and  where  a humanist  like  Hineas  Sylvius 
had  been  raised  to  the  papacy.  But  all  this  was 
almost  unknown  in  England,  and  William  Grey  was 
among  the  very  first  to  carry  back  to  his  native  land 
the  love  of  the  new  learning  and  the  desire  to  assist 
its  growth. 

John  Free’s  career  was  typical  in  a different  way  of 
the  life  of  the  English  scholar  in  Italy.  William  Grey 
had  gone  there  as  a great  lord,  who  established  a 
princely  household  wherever  he  went.  John  Free,  on 
VX  the  other  hand,  represented  the  poor  wandering  stu- 

dent, who  later  raised  his  station  in  life  by  sheer  force 

1 Among  these  were  the  works  of  Poggio,  Guarino,  Bruno, 
Petrarch  and  other  humanists.  Vide  Coxe,  Catalogus  Codicum 
Collegiis  Oxoniensibus,  I,  Balliol  College. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


21 


of  ambition  and  personal  ability.  It  has  been  stated 
by  Leland  the  antiquary,  that  some  Italian  merchants 
whom  Free  met  in  his  native  town  of  Bristol  induced 
him  to  cross  the  Alps.  It  seems  more  likely  to  sup- 
pose however  that  his  patron  William  Grey  advised 
Free  as  a promising  student  to  go  to  Italy,  offering,  as 
stated  by  him,  to  aid  him  in  his  travels.  Free’s  letters 
to  his  patron  tell  the  story.1  He  left  England  with 
only  ten  pounds  in  his  possession,  which  he  carried  in 
bills  of  exchange  ; barely  six  remained  by  the  time  he 
had  reached  Ferrara,  and  after  purchasing  the  neces- 
sary food  and  clothes,  a very  small  sum  was  left  over. 
This  he  had  spent,  and  poverty  stared  him  in  the  face  ; 
he  swore  to  his  patron  he  had  not  received  a penny 
since  leaving  England.  All  he  asked  for  was  sufficient 
money  to  enable  him  to  continue  his  work ; for  who- 
ever wished  to  perfect  himself  in  the  humanities,  he 
wrote,  must  first  be  freed  from  all  mental  worries,  espe- 
cially such  as  related  to  the  necessities  of  life.  He 
was  particularly  anxious  to  be  able  to  study,  in  order  to 
help  swell  the  scanty  number  of  Englishmen  then  pro- 
ficient in  Greek  and  Latin ; this,  he  wrote,  would  con- 
tribute to  his  patron’s  glory.  The  bishop  of  Ely  sent  the 
needed  remittance,  and  for  a time  everything  went  well. 
Free  however,  who  wished  to  translate  something  from 
the  Greek,  begged  for  an  addition  to  his  usual  allow- 
ance in  order  to  purchase  the  necessary  texts.2  His 
complaints  were  frequent  not  only  of  his  poverty,  but 

1 Ms.  587  Bodleian. 

2 Ibid.,  f.  1 62. 


22 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


' ■f-'  J 

.}  / , /A'M' 

i ***** 


■h  ^\’~7 


of  homesickness,  as  well,  and  the  thought  of  having  left 
friends  and  country. 

The  new  humanism  also  had  its  influence  over  him. 
Grey’s  nephew,  who  had  been  sent  by  his  uncle  to 
study  in  Italy,  had  died  there.  In  attempting  to  con- 
sole his  patron,  Free  made  use  of  arguments  taken 
from  Petrarch ; he  bade  him  remember  that  although 
nothing  could  prevent  death,  yet  beyond  its  threshold 
were  glory  and  everlasting  fame.  His  letters  plainly 
betrayed  the  Renaissance  spirit,  and  were  full  of  the 
expressions  and  feelings  of  Italian  humanism.  He 
spoke  of  men  “ of  ancient  faith  and  virtue  ” ; he  called 
“ Immortal  God  ” to  witness,  and  not  the  Blessed 
Virgin ; he  paid  a fitting  tribute  to  the  scholarly  attain- 
ments of  Valla.  In  every  way  he  tried  to  show  that  he 
had  left  far  behind  him  the  scholastic  traditions  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  looked  forward  to  the  new  ideals  of 
the  Renaissance.  He  was  not  only  the  most  learned 
Englishman  of  his  age,  but  the  first  who  even  attempted 
to  reach  the  goal  of  universality  Italy  had  created.  In 
his  love  of  learning  he  took  up  not  only  the  classics  and 
philosophy,  but  medicine  and  civil  law.1  In  the  classics 
he  achieved  considerable  success,  and  his  funeral  ora- 


1 On  the  margin  of  f.  I,  Ms.  CXXIV  Ball.  Coll,  (a  universal 
cosmography  in  the  writing  of  John  Free)  is  a note  by  a more 
recent  hand.  “ This  book  on  cosmography  was  written  at 
Padua  in  Italy,  by  John  Free  of  Bristol,  who  studied  at  Padua 
and  at  Rome  and  was  a professed  doctor  in  medicine,  civil  law 
and  Greek.”  Free  also  wrote  and  compiled  the  first  six  books 
of  Diodorus  Siculus,  perhaps  from  Poggio’s  translation.  — Coxe, 

b 35- 


THE  SCHOLAR 


23 


tion  on  Guarino  was  highly  praised  for  its  Latinity  by 
Carbo  of  Ferrara.  His  principal  study,  however,  was 
probably  medicine,  which  he  taught  for  some  years 
in  different  Italian  cities.  About  1465  he  went  to 
Rome,  where  he  found  a patron  in  John  Tiptoft, 
Earl  of  Worcester,  to  whom  he  dedicated  his  Latin 
poetry  and  several  translations  from  the  Greek. 
For  his  scholarly  attainments,  Pope  Paul  the  First 
granted  him  the  bishopric  of  Bath  and  Wells,  but  he 
died,  not  without  suspicion  of  poison,  before  his 
consecration. 

John  Gunthorpe  and  Robert  Flemming  were  among 
the  other  scholars  who  belong  to  this  early  generation. 
The  former  had  been  Free’s  companion  in  Italy.  He 
too  had  collected  there  many  books,  most  of  which 
were  later  distributed  among  the  colleges  at  Oxford.1 
On  his  return  to  England  he  became  royal  chaplain 
and  Dean  of  Wells  where  the  deanery  house  built  by 
him  showed  the  Italian  influence  in  its  architecture.2 
His  remaining  literary  work  was  confined  to  a 
rhetoric,3  remarkable  for  its  occasional  use  of  Greek 
words  and  letters,  and  the  minute  analysis  of  the 
Latin  parts  of  speech.  Leland  however  mentions 
certain  Latin  epistles  and  poems  also  by  his  pen. 

Robert  Flemming  had  perhaps  been  induced  to  visit 
Italy  by  his  kinsman,  Richard,  who  at  the  Council  of 
Constance,  where  Italian  humanism  first  crossed  the 


aJ. 


A -<* 


r 


' • 

Z T ********  y 


1 Leland,  Script.  Brit.,  p.  463,  also  Leland,  Collectanea,  III,  16. 

2 Creighton,  Early  Renaissance,  p.  29. 

8 Ms.  587  Bod. 


24  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Alps,  had  distinguished  himself  by  the  violence  of  his 
attacks  on  Wyclif.1  Flemming’s  desire  for  learning 
was  strong  enough  to  make  him  leave  the  cathedral 
of  which  he  was  the  dean,  to  undertake  the  Italian 
journey.  After  visiting  the  famous  universities  and 
studying  at  Ferrara  under  Battista  Guarino,  he  settled 
down  for  some  years  in  Rome.  There  he  formed  a 
friendship  with  Platina,  the  papal  historian  and  librarian 
of  the  Vatican,  while  from  Sixtus  the  Fourth  he  ob- 
tained a preferment.  He  dedicated  to  the  Pope  his 
Lucubrationes  Tiburtince , written  at  Tivoli,  where  he 
passed  the  warm  summer  months.  This  poem  in 
heroic  metre  was  probably  the  first  important  humanist 
verse  written  by  any  Englishman.2  In  addition  he 
compiled  a Greek  and  Latin  dictionary,  no  longer 
extant.  The  remaining  years  of  his  life  were  unevent- 
ful. After  his  return  to  England  he  settled  at  Lincoln, 
and  on  his  death  the  manuscripts  collected  by  him 
were  left  to  the  Oxford  college  which  bore  his 
cathedral’s  name. 

One  more  English  scholar  who  belonged  to  this 
early  group  will  be  mentioned.  John  Tiptoft,  Earl  of 
Worcester,  proved  himself  a quite  different  type  of 
man  from  the  others,  whom  he  resembled  only  in  his 
love  of  letters.  He  was  revered  in  Italy  as  a second 

1 Voigt,  II,  260. 

2 A few  lines  are  cited  by  Leland,  Script.  Brit.,  p.  461V 

“ Sane  quisquis  in  hunc  oculos  defixerit  acreis, 

In  vultu  facieque  viri  coeleste  videbit 
Elucere  aliquid  majestatem  verendam.” 


THE  SCHOLAR 


25 


Maecenas,  known  alike  for  his  scholarship  and  the  zeal 
with  which  he  collected  manuscripts.  Like  the  Italian 
despots  of  that  age,  he  united  a fondness  for  learning 
and  patronage  of  the  arts  with  tyranny  and  oppression. 
He  has  often  been  considered  the  first  example  of  an 
“Italianate  Englishman,”  a type  so  common  a hundred 
years  later.  This  is  untrue  in  so  far  as  the  name  stands 
for  the  affected  dandyism  of  Elizabethan  courtiers.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  represented  the  blood  and  iron  of 
fifteenth  century  Italy,  with  its  energy  impatient  of 
restraint,  eager  only  to  accomplish  its  end,  heedless 
of  difficulty.  He  represented,  too,  its  zeal  for  learning, 
perhaps  the  one  love  in  which  it  was  sincere. 

Tiptoft  had  gone  to  Padua  to  continue  his  Latin 
studies ; afterwards  he  visited  the  aged  Guarino  at 
Ferrara,  and  then  went  to  Florence  to  have  manuscripts 
copied.  Everything  interested  him,  and  arm  in  arm 
with  the  bookseller,  Vespasiano,  he  saw  the  sights  of 
the  city,  and  even  heard  John  Argyropulos  lecture.1 
In  Rome  Tiptoft  is  said  to  have  caused  Pius  the  Second 
to  weep  with  joy  at  hearing  such  eloquence  flow  from 
English  lips.2  He  met  scholars  as  well,  in  Italy,  while 
humanists  like  Francesco  d’ Arezzo  dedicated  their 
works  to  him. 

No  mean  scholar  himself,  he  is  supposed  to  have 
translated  into  English,  Cicero’s  essay  on  friendship, 
and  Caesar’s  commentaries.  His  great  wealth,  more- 
over, allowed  him  to  take  back  with  him  such  a 
number  of  books  that  he  was  said  to  have  despoiled  the 
1 Vespasiano,  p.  403.  2 Voigt,  II,  258. 


26  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


libraries  of  Italy  to  enrich  those  of  England.  Oxford 
shared  in  his  benefactions  and  gratefully  acknowledged 
them.  Through  him  the  authorities  wrote1,  the  uni- 
versity approached  nearer  to  his  Padua  since  the 
fame  of  his  attainments,  and  with  it  of  their  own,  had 
become  known  to  the  Italians,  the  masters  of  elo- 
quence. Just  as  no  reward  could  have  been  too 
great  for  the  late  Duke  Humphrey  who  had  favored 
their  cause,  there  now  was  no  one  worthier  than  him- 
self to  succeed  to  his  place  in  their  affections.  They 
felt  it  time  for  others  than  Italians  to  enjoy  his  fame. 
Such  lavish  praise  did  not  fail  to  obtain  its  reward. 
A letter  of  some  years  later  mentioned  the  fact  that 
the  earl  had  left  Oxford  a large  number  of  books.2 

Caxton  also  eulogized  Tiptoft’s  love  of  letters,3 
and  praised  his  learning  and  cultivation  of  the  arts ; 
like  praise  can  be  found  as  well  in  the  Canterbury 
Necrology.4  Unfortunately  the  less  pleasant  side  to 
his  life  earned  for  him  the  title  of  the  “butcher  of 
England.”  He  was  especially  hated  for  introducing 
the  so-called  Paduan  law,  which  attempted  to 
substitute  the  Roman  law,  revived  at  Bologna  and 
Padua,  for  the  common  law.  This  change,  while 
of  advantage  to  trained  jurists,  seemed  like  an 
infringement  on  the  rights  of  the  poorer  people 

1 Epist.  Acad.,  II,  354.  2 Ibid.,  II,  390. 

8 Leland,  Script.  Brit.,  p.  480. 

4 “ Vir  undecumque  doctissimus,  omnium  liberalium  artium 
divinarumque  simul  ac  secularium  litterarum  scientia  peri- 
tissimus.”  — Cited  by  Gasquet,  Eve  of  the  Reformation,  p.  23, 
note  3. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


2 7 


who  had  been  accustomed  to  plead  for  themselves. 
Tiptoft  was  hated  in  consequence,  for  having  introduced 
what  was  considered  a foreign  and  tyrannous  system 
in  opposition  to  the  liberties  of  England.  The  im- 
portant judicial  positions  he  occupied  permitted, 
moreover,  a free  rein  to  his  cruelty,  and  when,  during 
the  civil  wars,  he  fell  a prisoner  in  his  enemies’  hands, 
all  alike  demanded  his  execution,  on  account  of  his 
having  oppressed  the  people  and  curtailed  their  just 
rights.  To  the  Italian  priest,  who  accompanied  him  to 
the  place  of  execution,  he  apologized  for  his  cruelties, 
on  the  ground  of  their  having  been  necessary  for  the 
safety  of  the  state,  — an  explanation  which  satisfied 
neither  priest  nor  people.  The  examples  for  his  life’s 
work  were  both  Italian.  On  the  one  hand,  he  had 
found  in  Italy  models  of  tyrannous  government  and 
the  absolute  rule  of  the  prince.  To  carry  this  into 
effect  he  introduced  an  alien  system  into  England, 
the  purpose  of  which  was  to  elevate  the  sovereign’s 
power.  On  the  other  hand,  as  a cultivated  scholar, 
an  eloquent  orator,  a collector  of  manuscripts  and  a 
patron  of  learning,  he  also  found  examples  in  Italy 
where  once  he  had  gratified  his  tastes. 

What  may  be  called  the  second  period  in  English 
humanism  came  to  an  end  with  Tiptoft’s  death, 
even  though  Flemming  and  Gunthorpe  lived  many 
years  longer.  Although  those  who  had  been  its  prin- 
cipal actors  accomplished  but  little,  they  forged  a 
link  in  the  development  of  the  English  Renaissance, 
and  showed  that  the  new  learning  at  Oxford,  far  from 


28  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

being  a sudden  outburst,  was  silently  prepared  by  a 
small  group  of  scholars.  Disturbances  at  home  and 
wars  abroad  proved  obstacles,  however,  to  the  student’s 
life,  while,  furthermore,  no  commanding  names  lent 
lustre  to  the  period.  Excepting  as  they  distinguished 
themselves  in  other  fields,  the  scholars  of  this  time 
have  all  disappeared  from  memory. 

England  was  still  unripe  for  the  new  learning.  The 
only  chance  for  its  success  lay  in  concentration  of 
effort.  But  the  young  and  ambitious  band  of  Balliol 
scholars  who  set  out  for  Italy,  full  of  hope,  did  not 
return  to  Oxford,  where  alone  in  England  their  work 
might  have  borne  fruit.  United  in  their  early  zeal, 
they  separated  when  the  immediate  goal  had  been 
reached,  and  in  consequence  failed  in  their  work. 
John  Free,  the  most  learned  and  gifted  of  all,  died 
before  returning  home.  Tiptoft,  who  shared  their  love 
for  letters,  was  led  away  from  scholarly  pursuits  to 
perish  miserably  on  the  scaffold,  while  the  others 
passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives  apart  from  each 
other  in  retirement.  Their  labor,  however,  was  not  in 
vain.  The  task  they  accomplished  was  to  provide 
books  for  later  students  to  use  ; to  bring  back  with 
them,  even  though  sterile,  the  learning  of  the  Renais- 
sance, and  show  that  Greek  and  natural  science, 
philosophy  and  medicine,  were  all  within  their  reach. 
John  Free,  at  least,  proved  the  type  of  humanist  to  be 
possible  for  Englishmen.  But  most  important  of  all, 
they  pointed  out  that  guidance  for  the  new  learning 
must  be  sought  for  in  Italy  itself. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


29 


IV 


The  fifteenth  century  was  already  nearing  the  end,  : 
with  the  new  learning  in  England  still  in  its  infancy. 

Its  growth,  although  slow,  had  nevertheless  been 
constant  during  the  fifty  years  before  Oxford  began 
to  emerge  from  mediaevalism.  In  the  face  of  many 
difficulties,  there  had  been  a steady  movement  in  the 
direction  of  progress.  A second  generation  of  Oxoni- 
ans now  found  the  task  before  them  of  laying  the  foun- 
dations of  English  scholarship,  and  beginning  in  their 
own  country  the  study  of  the  humanities  as  it  had 
flourished  for  a century  in  Italy. 

William  Selling  of  All  Souls,  a Benedictine  monk, 
may  almost  be  called  the  dean  of  this  younger  gen- 
eration. With  another  monk,  William  Hadley,  he  had 
first  gone  to  Italy  in  1464.  The  two  studied  together 
at  Padua  and  Bologna,  and  met,  among  other  scholars, 
Politian  and  Chalcondylas.  Selling  on  his  return  gave 
particular  attention  to  Greek,  which  was  still  unknown 
in  England.  He  took  back  with  him  many  ancient 
manuscripts,1  and  tried  to  make  a centre  of  learning  out 
of  the  monastery  at  Canterbury,  of  which  he  became 
the  prior.  The  first  real  facilities  in  England  to  learn 
Greek  were  to  be  found  there.  He  himself  translated  N 
into  Latin  a work  of  St.  John  Chrysostom’s,  probably 
the  first  Greek  book  translated  in  that  century  on 
English  soil.  The  wandering  friar  of  the  Middle 


Tv-  Sul L. 

/ 


of  A 


0/  a j 


1 Leland,  Script.  Brit.,  p.  482. 


30  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Ages,  the  teacher  of  humanism  and  the  scholar  diplo- 
mat of  the  Renaissance  were  the  elements  in  Sell- 
ing’s nature.  As  a diplomat  he  accompanied  the 
embassy  sent  to  the  Pope  by  Henry  the  Seventh  to 
announce  his  succession  to  the  throne,  and  delivered 
a Latin  oration  before  him  and  the  College  of  Cardi- 
nals. As  master  moreover  of  the  Christ  Church 
School,  he  first  taught  Thomas  Linacre  the  classics. 
He  was  thus  one  of  the  earliest  English  examples  of 
the  all-round  man  of  broad  culture,  so  frequent  in 
Italy  in  the  Renaissance.  Prominent  alike  in  scholar- 
ship and  diplomacy,  as  a churchman  and  a teacher, 
he  yet  failed  to  excel  in  any  capacity. 

With  the  work  of  three  Oxford  friends,  Thomas 
Linacre,  William  Grocyn  and  Thomas  Latimer,  modern 
English  scholarship  really  began.  Unlike  their  prede- 
cessors, who  after  studying  in  Italy,  had  accomplished 
little,  both  because  the  time  was  not  ripe  and  their 
efforts  were  too  scattered  to  produce  any  effect,  they 
centred  their  work  at  Oxford  and  taught  what  they 
had  themselves  learned  across  the  Alps.  After  the 
new  learning  had  once  rested  on  a firm  foundation  at 
the  university,  it  was  an  easy  task  for  its  usefulness  to 
be  acknowledged  by  the  rest  of  England. 

William  Grocyn,  the  eldest  of  the  three  friends,  had 
been  a fellow  of  New  College,  and  afterwards  preben- 
dary^ of  Lincoln  Cathedral,  where  Robert  Flemming 
was  dean.  From  him  came  probably  Grocyn’s  de- 
sire to  visit  Italy.  Most  of  the  Italian  humanists  of 
Flemming’s  generation  were  dead,  but  new  ones  con- 


THE  SCHOLAR 


31 


tinued  worthily  the  old  traditions,  although  the  favor- 
ite city  for  study  was  no  longer  Ferrara,  but  Florence. 
That  William  Grocyn,  already  a man  of  forty  and  a 
scholar  of  some  reputation,  should  have  considered  it 
necessary  to  cross  the  Alps  in  search  of  learning,  shows 
how  much  Italy  had  then  to  offer  and  Englishmen 
wished  to  learn. 

Linacre  set  out  in  1488  to  study  under  Politian,1 
then  the  acknowledged  master  among  Italian  schol- 
ars. There  had  been  many  learned  humanists  before 
him,  but  all  had  lacked  the  taste  and  perfect  style, 
which  he  united  to  his  great  erudition.  The  new 
method  taught  only  by  him  attracted  to  his  lectures 
students  from  all  Europe,2  among  whom  were  Grocyn, 
Latimer  and  Linacre.  Linacre,  after  his  first  school- 
ing at  Canterbury,  went  to  Oxford  and  then  accom- 
panied his  former  master,  William  Selling,  on  his 
embassy  to  the  Pope.  He  was  left,  however,  at  Bologna 
in  the  care  of  Politian,  whom  he  later  followed  to 
Florence.  From  him  Linacre  acquired  his  living 
knowledge  of  the  classics,  and  the  purity  of  style  for 
which  he  was  celebrated ; for  Politian  boasted  of  his 
students,  that  they  knew  Greek  as  if  the  ancient  Athe- 
nians had  settled  in  Florence.  Lorenzo  de’  Medici, 
the  patron  of  the  school,  allowed  him  moreover  (per- 
haps on  account  of  having  been  with  Selling’s  em- 
bassy) to  attend  Politian’s  private  instruction  to  the 
young  princes,  Piero  and  Giovanni,  who  afterward 

1 Erasmus,  Epist.,  CCCI. 

2 Prezziner,  Studio  di  Firenze,  I,  162  et  seq. 


% F C'T— 4~. 


32  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


became  Leo  the  Tenth.  Many  years  later,  the  English 
scholar  dedicated  his  edition  of  Galen  to  Leo,  to  recall, 
as  he  said,  the  common  studies  of  their  youth. 

After  a year  in  Florence,  Linacre  visited  the  other 
Italian  centres  of  learning.  In  Rome  he  met  Aldus, 
who  held  him  ever  afterwards  in  high  regard  and  was 
later  to  publish  his  books.  While  studying  Plato  in 
the  Vatican  Library,  he  also  became  acquainted  with 
the  great  Hellenist,  Hermolaus  Barbarus,  who  urged 
on  him  and  his  two  English  companions  the  task  of 
translating  Aristotle  into  Latin ; Linacre  alone  is  said 
to  have  completed  his  share  of  this  work.1  The 
study  of  Aristotle  probably  led  him  to  devote  himself 
to  natural  science  and  especially  to  the  medical  writers 
of  antiquity  ; later  he  graduated  a doctor  of  medicine 
at  Padua.  To  perfect  himself  further  in  these  pursuits, 
he  studied  at  Vicenza,  under  the  celebrated  scholar 
and  physician,  Leonicenus,  who  had  been  the  restorer 
of  the  medical  treatment  of  Hippocrates  through 
observation,  which  then  was  practised  only  by  Ital- 

(ians ; for  the  great  development  of  medicine  in  the 
Renaissance  came  from  the  rediscovery  in  Italy  of 
the  methods  of  the  ancients.  Six  years  were  spent  by 
Linacre  in  his  efforts  to  acquire  there  the  new  sciences. 
When  finally  he  was  ready  to  depart,  he  built  an 
altar  of  stones  dedicated  to  Italy,  bearing  on  it  the 
words,  Sancta  Mater  Studiorum. 

Cornelio  Vitelli,  a wandering  Italian  scholar,  was 
called  by  Polydore  Vergil  the  first  teacher  of 
1 Collectanea  Oxford.,  II,  346. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


33 


humanities  ( bonas  litteras ) at  Oxford,  and  it  has  even 
been  suggested  that  Grocyn  and  Linacre  may  have 
studied  under  him.  Both  Erasmus  and  George  Lily 
wrote  that  Grocyn  taught  Greek  before  his  Italian  jour- 
ney,1 but  no  evidence  to  this  effect  can  be  found.  It 
was  certainly  not  until  1490,  the  date  of  Grocyn’s 
return  from  Italy,  that  his  teaching  of  Greek  at  Ox- 
ford began  to  exert  its  influence,  and  all  indications 
point  to  its  having  been  taught  then  for  the  first  time. 
The  materials  for  the  study  of  the  new  learning  had 
for  some  time  been  accumulating  at  Oxford,  until 
everything  was  ready.  In  the  university  library  were 
the  books  which  Duke  Humphrey  and  the  Earl  of 
Worcester  donated,  while  Grey  and  Free  had  been 
similar  benefactors  to  Balliol,  and  Flemming  to  Lin- 
coln College.  In  this  way,  the  discoveries  of  Italian 
scholarship  had  become  known  at  Oxford,  while  the 
methods  of  the  humanists  were  likewise  brought  back 
by  English  students  on  their  return  from  Italy.2 

The  close  friendship  which  existed  between  Grocyn 
and  Linacre  induced  them  to  work  together,  once 
they  were  back  at  Oxford.  Humanism,  though  affect- 
ing them  equally  in  their  love  for  the  classics,  had  in- 
fluenced each  one  in  a different  manner.  It  led  the 
former  to  scriptural  criticism  ; William  Grocyn  had 
not  taken  up  the  new  studies  until  comparatively  late 

1 Erasmus,  Epist.,  CCCLXIII. 

2 Among  other  books  in  Grocyn’s  own  library  were  the  works 
of  Ficino,  Valla,  Filelfo,  Perotti,  Petrarch  and  Boccaccio,  Col- 
lectanea, II,  317  et  seq. 

D 


34  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


in  life.  In  spite  of  having  been  the  introducer  of 
Greek  at  Oxford,  he  always  remained  half  a school- 
man ; even  Erasmus  had  to  admire  the  wide  extent 
of  his  scholastic  training.1  He  did  not,  however, 
allow  this  to  blind  him  to  the  merits  of  the  new 
learning.  With  a rare  devotion  to  the  cause  of  schol- 
arship, he  gathered  in  Italy  the  fruits  of  its  best  in- 
struction to  expound  them  later  to  those  still  immersed 
in  mediaeval  traditions.  In  the  face  of  many  obstacles 
cast  in  his  way,  he  succeeded  in  establishing  at  Oxford 
the  study  of  Greek. 

The  fame  of  Grocyn,  besides  resting  on  his  reputa- 
tion as  a teacher,  resulted  also  from  his  lectures  on 
the  works  of  the  so-called  Dionysius  the  Areopagite, 
which  marked  the  beginnings  of  biblical  criticism  in 
England,  and  showed  the  effect  of  his  own  humanistic 
studies.  He  began  by  vigorously  attacking  Lorenzo 
Valla,  who  had  disputed  the  authenticity  of  the  work ; 
but  realizing  his  error,  with  characteristic  frankness  he 
openly  acknowledged  it  and  retracted. 

Little  is  now  left  to  confirm  the  extraordinary  repu- 
tation Grocyn  enjoyed  as  a humanist.  He  shared  the 
distaste  of  the  other  scholars  of  his  age  for  appearing 
in  print ; excepting  an  epigram,  nothing  has  been  pre- 
served of  his  writings  save  a letter  written  in  1499 
to  his  friend  Aldus,  the  Venetian  printer,2  in  which  he 
thanked  him  for  the  “ singular  kindness  ” shown  his  best 
friend  Linacre,  who  had  just  returned  to  England,  and 
congratulated  him  on  completing  the  first  publication 

a Cited  in  Collectanea , II,  551. 


1 Epist.,  XIV. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


35 


of  the  Greek  text  of  Aristotle  by  “ that  extremely  in- 
genious artifice  which  you  have  invented  for  spreading 
Greek  literature  by  means  of  the  press.  . . . Go  on 
then,  my  Aldus,  with  this  work  and  prosper." 

There  were  two  sides  to  William  Grocyn ; in  his 
nature  the  spirit  of  the  Middle  Ages  blended  with  that 
of  the  Renaissance.  On  the  one  hand  was  the  school- 
man and  the  quiet  recluse,  who,  after  satisfying  his 
thirst  for  knowledge  in  Italy,  returned  to  settle  down 
in  almost  monastic  seclusion  at  Oxford.  On  the  other, 
was  the  humanist,  the  theological  critic,  the  introducer 
of  Greek.  It  was  this  which  has  entitled  him  to  a 
place  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  English  scholarship, 
and  almost  justified  the  verdict  which  makes  him 
share  with  his  friend  Linacre  the  glory  of  beginning 
the  English  Renaissance  of  learning.  Unlike  the 
latter,  however,  he  lived  within  a small  circle,  caring 
little  for  the  applause  of  the  world,  but  known  to 
his  friends  as  “ the  most  upright  and  best  of  all  the 
Britons.”  1 

Thomas  Linacre,  the  first  great  English  humanist 
and  the  foremost  physician  of  the  time,  was  a different 
type  of  man.  What  John  Free  attempted  in  the  pre- 
vious generation,  Linacre  had  accomplished.  For  the 
first  time  England  found  a universal  scholar  who,  like 
the  great  Italians  of  the  fifteenth  century,  was  learned 
in  all  branches  of  knowledge.  He  was  a humanist  in 
every  sense  of  the  word  ; although  his  learning  was 
essentially  secular,  he  was  skilled  in  ancient  dialectic 

1 Erasmus,  Epist.,  CII. 


<r 


% 


A t/U. 


36  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


and  rhetoric,  no  less  than  in  the  classics  and  sciences. 
It  was  even  questioned  of  him  “ whether  he  was  a 
better  Latinist  or  Grecian,  a better  grammarian  or 
physician.” 

On  his  return  from  Italy,  Linacre  had  lectured  at 
Oxford,  and  with  Grocyn  taught  such  students  as  More, 
Colet  and  Erasmus.  He  wrote  as  well  as  taught,  and 
his  book  on  grammatical  distinctions  in  Latin  — a line 
of  work  already  accomplished  by  Valla  and  Perotti  — 
produced  a considerable  effect  in  England,  where  noth- 
ing of  its  kind  had  previously  been  attempted.1  His 
reputation  increased,  and  about  the  year  1500  he  was 
called  to  court  to  be  tutor  to  Prince  Arthur,  who  died, 
however,  shortly  afterward.  Neither  his  fame  nor 
Grocyn’s  was  confined  to  England,  but  spread  to  the 
other  countries  of  Europe.  The  two  were  brought 
into  especial  prominence  by  the  death  of  the  great  fif- 
teenth century  humanists,  who  left  no  Italian  scholars  to 
take  their  places.  The  new  learning  had,  however, 
crossed  the  Alps,  and  now,  firmly  rooted  in  the  different 
countries  of  Europe,  united  once  more  the  learned 
world,  insuring  for  its  leaders  an  international  celebrity. 
Vives  the  Spaniard,  Lascaris  the  Greek,  and  the  French- 
man Budaeus,  to  say  nothing  of  his  own  pupil  Erasmus, 
all  joined  in  praising  Linacre.  Aldus,  in  publishing 
his  edition  of  the  Sphere  of  Proclus,  regretted  that 
Linacre  had  not  sent  him  more  books  to  print.  He 
paid  a striking  tribute  to  the  new  English  scholars  who 
were  now  surpassing  their  masters.  Admiring  their 

1 Hallam,  Literature  of  Europe,  I,  344. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


37 


eloquence  and  style,  he  expressed  the  hope  that  their 
example  might  shame  the  Italian  philosophers  out  of 
their  uncultured  mode  of  writing,  so  that  from  Britain 
itself,  whence  formerly  there  had  issued  a barbarous  and 
rude  literature,  which  threatened  the  Italian  sanctuary 
of  knowledge,  true  aid  to  learning  might  now  come.1 

Linacre  had  been  able  to  cultivate,  even  if  he  had 
not  acquired  in  Italy,  his  taste  for  medicine  and  the 
natural  sciences.  There  had  been  other  classical 
scholars,  but  he  was  the  first  English  scientist  and 
physician  of  distinction.  On  his  return  to  Oxford  he 
is  supposed  to  have  lectured  on  medicine  as  well  as  on 
other  subjects  ; Erasmus  considered  him  the  intro- 
ducer of  medical  science  in  England.2  His  translation 
of  Galen  began  its  classical  study  there ; this  was  also 
the  first  work  of  a Greek  author  printed  in  that 
country.  Aldus  desired  to  publish  other  scientific 
books  by  him  ; but  Linacre  shared  the  dislike  to  ap- 
pear in  print.  He  later  became  prominent  in  London 
through  his  medical  practice,  and  succeeded  the  Italian 
Battista  de  Boeria  as  court-physician,  attending  the  king 
with  the  other  doctors,  Fernando  de  Vittoria  and  John 
Chamber,  who  had  also  studied  medicine  at  Padua.3 

Linacre  had  felt  the  need  of  adequate  facilities  in 
England  for  scientific  studies,  which  could  then  only 

1 Cited  in  Collectanea,  II,  347.  Vide  E.  Legrand,  Biblio- 
sraphie  Hellenique,  II,  296. 

2 Epist.,  CCVII. 

3 T.  N.  Johnson,  Linacre,  pp.  1 70,  279 ; Marini  Transcripts, 
Brit.  Mus.,  XXXVII,  826. 


38  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


be  properly  pursued  in  Italy.  Before  him,  the  practice 
of  medicine  in  England  had  been  chiefly  in  the  hands 
of  charlatans.  To  remedy  this,  he  left  the  fortune  he 
had  accumulated,  for  the  foundation  of  medical  chairs 
at  both  universities  ; and  to  dignify  further  the  profes- 
sion,1 he  established  the  College  of  Physicians,  which 
was  modelled  on  similar  Italian  institutions.  The 
lectureships  he  endowed  were  only  realized  in  a 
modified  form,  without  embracing  the  wide  scope  he 
had  mapped  out  for  them.  His  public  spirit  and  fore- 
sight in  regard  to  the  future  of  science  made  him, 
however,  a benefactor  of  the  nation.  He  was  regarded 
generally  as  the  first  English  type  of  universal  humanist. 
He  corresponded  with  foreign  scholars  in  other  lands; 
his  real  work  lay  in  teaching  to  his  countrymen  the 
lessons  he  had  learned  in  Italy.  With  him,  the  ex- 
ample of  the  scholar  whose  knowledge  should  rest  on 
a broad  secular  foundation,  and  embrace  the  wide  range 
of  the  arts  and  sciences,  was  brought  over  to  England 
from  across  the  Alps.  Erasmus,  writing  to  Latimer,  said 
that  had  he  only  Linacre  or  Tunstall  as  his  teacher, 
he  would  not  seek  Italy.2  It  was  no  longer  necessary 
for  scholars  to  go  there ; the  new  learning  had  been 
definitely  established  in  England  ; the  new  type  of 
scholar  now  flourished  there  as  well. 

William  Latimer  was  the  last  of  the  three  Oxford 
friends  who  had  studied  together  in  Florence.  He  is 
known  chiefly  by  his  friends,  whose  dislike  for  appear- 

1 Caius,  De  Antiquitate  Can/abrigiensis  Academia?,  II,  126. 

4 Epist.  CCCLXIII. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


39 


ing  in  print  he  felt  even  more  strongly ; Erasmus 
compared  him  on  account  of  this  to  a miser  hoard- 
ing his  gold.1  His  scholarship,  however,  was  greatly 
appreciated,  especially  by  Erasmus.  Bishop  Fisher, 
eager  in  spite  of  his  advanced  years  to  learn  Greek, 
wished  him  to  be  his  teacher ; but  he  advised  instead 
that  one  be  sent  for  from  Italy.2 

It  will  scarcely  be  necessary  to  go  through  the  in- 
creasing list  of  English  scholars  who  had  either  studied 
in  Italy,  or  else  betrayed  the  influence  of  Italian  schol- 
arship. The  humanist  movement  in  England  was 
well  under  way,  and  each  year  saw  eager  students  has- 
tening to  Padua  and  Bologna.  Even  at  the  provincial 
university  of  Siena,  out  of  some  three  hundred  students 
in  the  school  of  philosophy,  one-half  were  foreigners, 
among  whom  were  English,  Germans,  Portuguese,  and 
even  Swedes.3  The  greater  number  who  returned  to 
their  homes  helped  in  silence  to  build  up  the  new 
humanism  and  spread  the  learning  they  had  acquired 
in  Italy.  A few  remained,  however,  in  their  adopted 
country.  Before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  one 
Thomas  Penketh  “ for  his  admired  learning  and  elo- 
quence ” had  even  been  called  from  Oxford,  it  was 
said,  to  teach  at  Padua.4 

Several  differences,  as  well  as  resemblances,  appear 
between  the  two  groups  of  Oxford  scholars  who  went 

1 Epist.  CCCLXIII. 

2 Mullinger,  History  of  Cambridge,  I,  519,  note. 

8 Zdekauer,  Studio  di  Siena , p.  96. 

4 S.  Lewkenor,  Discourse  of  Foreign  Cities,  1600. 


40  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


to  Italy  in  search  of  the  new  learning.  The  first 
devoted  themselves  only  to  individual  study.  Their 
scholarship,  however,  was  neither  so  profound  nor  so 
broad  as  that  of  their  successors,  who  were  teachers  as 
well  as  students.  The  first  had  failed  when  they  tried 
to  encourage  the  new  learning  by  offering  only  their  own 
individual  example.  The  others  succeeded  because 
they  built  on  a surer  foundation.  In  both  instances 
nearly  all  concerned  in  the  movement  were  church- 
men ; but  the  secular  tendency  was  gradually  growing, 
and  when  Linacre  took  orders  in  his  old  age,  it  was 
rather  to  enable  him  to  obtain  preferment  than  for 
any  other  reason.  Both  groups  were  composed  en- 
tirely of  Oxonians,  but  while  the  first  (excepting  John 
Tiptoft)  kept  up  their  connection  with  the  university 
only  through  gifts  and  bequests  of  books,  the  latter 
showed  in  their  life  work  a far  greater  academic  devo- 
tion. Their  task  was  not  only  to  bring  back  but 
actually  to  teach  their  countrymen  the  studies  of 
Greek  and  science,  medicine  and  Biblical  criticism, 
which  Italian  humanism  had  opened  to  the  world. 
By  their  instruction,  as  well  as  by  their  personal  exam- 
ple, they  created  the  new  type  of  English  scholar,  who 
was  to  equal  his  Italian  model  in  learning,  while  he 
surpassed  him  in  purity  of  life.  The  efforts  of  this 
small  band  of  scholars  succeeded  at  last  in  firmly  estab- 
lishing the  new  learning  at  Oxford.  Before  them, 
it  had  been  almost  impossible  to  place  it  on  the  secure 
foundation  necessary.  Englishmen  lacked  interest  in 
humanism  so  long  as  civil  anarchy,  desolation  and 


THE  SCHOLAR 


41 


lawlessness  conspired  to  forbid  the  necessary  repose  for 
scholarly  labors.  All  that  could  be  hoped  for,  and  had 
in  fact  been  accomplished,  was  to  preserve  what  little 
learning  was  left  from  earlier  generations.  The  day 
came,  however,  when  the  strong  arm  of  the  Tudor 
monarchy  made  itself  felt  through  the  land,  and  peo- 
ple realized  that  the  age  of  civil  strife  was  over,  and 
the  arts  could  now  be  practised  in  peace.  Amid  the 
novel  feeling  of  quiet  and  repose,  the  new  learning 
developed  and  prospered.  Just  as  in  Italy  scholars  had 
lived  under  the  patronage  of  princes,  who  granted  them 
adequate  rewards  for  their  labors,  so  humanism,  newly 
introduced  into  England,  was  fostered  and  encouraged 
by  Henry  the  Seventh,  first  of  a new  race  of  English 
monarchs. 


V 

Already  in  the  early  days  of  English  humanism,  a 
definite  growth  can  be  traced,  marked  by  separate 
stages  of  development.  This  growth  coincided  for  a 
time  with  the  extension  of  Italian  influence,  and  was 
in  part  its  result.  To  the  very  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  even  later,  Italy  remained  the  fountain- 
head of  the  new  learning.  Yet  England,  as  a whole, 
was  still  strangely  insensible  to  Italian  scholarship, 
which  flourished  only  at  Oxford.  During  the  sixteenth 
century  however,  a great  transformation  took  place. 
On  the  one  hand,  the  silent  preparatory  work  of  pre- 
vious years  was  to  spread  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of 
the  university.  On  the  other,  the  single  dominant  in- 


42  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


fluence  of  Italy,  which  had  been  till  then  the  living 
breath  of  the  new  learning,  was  greatly  to  diminish, 
while  other  countries  in  part  took  its  place.  This 
change  was  neither  so  sudden  nor  so  unexpected  as 
might  appear.  The  diffusion  of  the  new  learning  be- 
yond the  college  halls,  was  largely  the  work  of  Oxford 
men  trained  in  the  methods  of  Italian  scholarship. 
The  decay  of  learning  in  Italy  at  the  same  time,  caused 
Grocyn  and  Linacre  to  be  regarded  by  the  Italians 
themselves  as  the  successors  to  their  own  great 
humanists.  The  foreign  scholars  who  had  been 
trained  in  Florence,  Bologna  and  Padua  were  now 
to  take  up  the  work  where  it  had  left  off  in  Italy, 
and  spread  the  Renaissance  learning  in  their  own 
countries. 

The  desire  to  move  in  a broader  sphere  than  the 
narrow  world  of  Oxford  can  be  observed  in  Linacre. 
The  great  connecting  link,  however,  between  court 
and  university  was  to  be  Sir  Thomas  More.  His 
task  was  to  foster  the  desire  for  learning  in  circles 
where  hitherto  it  had  been  unknown.  His  training 
and  nature  had  fitted  him  for  this  work.  As  a young 
boy  he  had  been  sent  to  Oxford  by  Archbishop  Mor- 
ton, and  had  there  learned  Greek  from  Grocyn  and 
Linacre,1  with  both  of  whom  he  formed  enduring 
friendships.  “ Grocyn  is  in  your  absence  the  master 
of  my  life ; Linacre,  the  director  of  my  studies,”  he 
wrote  Colet.2  Still  other  links  than  the  affection  he 

1 Erasmus,  Epist.,  DXI. 

a T.  Stapleton,  Tres  Thoma,  p.  23. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


43 


bore  his  masters  bound  him  to  Italy.  Not  only  had 
Colet  and  Lily,  with  both  of  whom  he  was  intimate, 
studied  there,  but  he  himself  conceived  a hero-worship 
for  Pico  della  Mirandola,  whose  life  he  translated  into 
English.  Among  his  best  friends,  moreover,  was  the 
Luccan  merchant,  Antonio  Bonvisi,  to  whom  before 
being  led  off  to  execution  he  wrote  in  most  affec- 
tionate terms,  saying  he  had  been  a son  rather  than  a 
guest  in  his  house. 

The  opportunity  soon  arose  for  More  to  prove  himself 
a friend  of  the  new  learning.  Its  very  success  had 
stirred  up  a violent  opposition  in  Oxford  itself.  The 
contest  came  over  Greek,  as  being  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  new  studies  brought  from  Italy.  To  know 
Greek  was  the  next  thing  to  heresy  in  the  minds 
of  many  who  regarded  its  literature  as  unorthodox.1 
Others,  skilled  in  dialectics,  were  hostile,  because  un- 
willing to  take  up  a new  study  in  which  their  former 
work  would  prove  of  no  use.  Some,  too,  regarded  all 
innovations  as  dangerous.  The  opponents  of  the 
“ Grecians  ” united,  therefore,  under  the  name  of 
“ Trojans,”  and  ridiculed  in  the  streets  those  who  pur- 
sued the  new  learning.2  A priest  who  should  have 
delivered  a Lenten  sermon  preached  in  its  place  an 
invective  against  Greek  and  other  polite  literature.3 
William  Tyndale,  writing  only  a few  years  later,  re- 
called the  fact  that  the  disciples  of  Duns  Scotus  “ raged 

1 Jebb,  Erasmus,  p.  41. 

4 Maxwell-Lyte,  History  of  Oxford,  p.  435  et  seq. 

8 Jortin,  Erasmus,  III,  359. 


44  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


in  every  pulpit  against  Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew,”1 
and  proclaimed  openly  that  if  there  existed  only  a 
single  copy  in  the  world  of  Terence  or  Virgil,  they 
would  burn  it,  though  it  cost  them  their  lives. 

At  this  point,  More  wrote  a letter  to  the  university 
authorities,  directed  against  mediaeval  scholasticism, 
which  severely  censured  those  who  desired  it  once  more. 
After  presenting  strong  arguments  in  favor  of  the  new 
learning,  he  warned  them  that  further  opposition 
would  alienate  the  favor  of  their  chancellor  Arch- 
bishop Warham,  their  patron  Cardinal  Wolsey,  and 
even  the  king,  who  was  much  interested  in  the  pro- 
gress of  letters.2  For  More,  besides  awakening  the 
court  to  the  new  learning,  was  also  high  in  the  royal 
favor,  the  king  often  sending  for  him  to  converse  on 
learned  subjects.  It  was  through  the  influence,  too, 
of  More  and  Pace  that  the  king  took  up  the  matter 
and  finally  silenced  the  Trojans. 

Erasmus  and  Colet  were  among  the  other  famous 
pupils  of  Grocyn  and  Linacre.  The  former  went  to 
Oxford  because  he  thought  it  no  longer  necessary 
to  proceed  to  Italy  for  classical  learning,  which  could 
then  better  be  obtained  in  England  than  anywhere  else. 
There  were  fewer  good  scholars  in  Italy,  he  wrote,  than 
in  the  days  of  Latimer’s  youth.  In  his  own  judg- 
ment whoever  was  really  learned  was  an  Italian,  even 
though  born  among  savages.3  It  was  not  till  later 

1 Tyndale,  Works,  III,  75.  2 Erasmus,  Epist.,  CCCCXIII. 

3 “ Mihi  Italus  est  quisque  probe  doctus  est  etiamsi  fit  apud 
Juvernos  natus.”  Ibid. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


45 


that  Erasmus  went  to  Italy,  accompanying  the  sons  of 
Battista  de  Boeria,  the  king’s  chief  physician.  His 
life  however,  is  too  European  to  belong  distinctively 
to  English  scholarship.  It  was  otherwise  with  John 
Colet,  whom  Erasmus  regarded  as  a leader  among 
learned  men.1  After  studying  at  Oxford,  wishing  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  masters,  he  too  visited 
Italy,  attracted  rather  by  a general  love  of  culture 
than  any  great  desire  to  learn  Greek.  Nothing  really 
is  known  of  the  details  of  the  three  years  he  spent 
there,  although  it  has  been  suggested  that  he  may 
have  met  Savonarola.  The  puritan  in  his  nature  seems, 
however,  to  have  been  brought  out  by  Italy.  He  was 
greatly  impressed  by  the  contrast  presented  between 
the  corruption  of  the  church  and  the  lives  of  “ certain 
monks  of  true  wisdom  and  piety.” 2 What  chiefly 
influenced  his  later  life  was  the  Neo-Platonism  and 
scriptural  criticism  of  the  Italian  scholars.  Returning 
to  Oxford  he  lectured  on  Paul’s  Epistles,  abandoning 
the  allegorical  interpretation  of  the  Middle  Ages  for  a 
free  exposition  of  the  whole.  He  compared  the  refer- 
ences of  St.  Paul  to  the  state  of  Roman  society,  and 
rejected  in  consequence  much  of  the  doctrine  of  verbal 
inspiration,  thus  adopting  the  new  historical  method 
introduced  in  Italy.  In  these  lectures,  as  in  his  work 
on  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  he  cited  no  schoolmen, 
but  referred  frequently  to  Ficino  and  Pico  della  Miran- 
dola,  quoting  freely  from  the  Platonic  theology  of  the 
former,  while  often  borrowing  the  latter’s  theological 
1 Epist.,  XLI.  2 lhld't  CCCCXXXV. 


prU  (<rU' 


4 6 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

doctrines.1  Colet  was  one  of  the  first,  with  Grocyn,  to 
criticise  in  England  the  subject-matter  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  Valla  had  done  in  Italy.  In  a different 
direction,  his  work  in  beginning  the  study  of  the  new 
learning  at  the  public  schools  was  analogous  to  what 
More  accomplished  at  the  court.  The  wealth  he  in- 
herited from  his  father  was  made  use  of  by  him  to 
found  a school  in  St.  Paul’s  churchyard.  William  Lily, 
the  grammarian,  who  had  studied  in  Italy  under 
Sulpitius  and  Pomponius  Lsetus,  was  its  first  head- 
master. There  Colet  and  Lily  put  into  practice  the 
new  principles  of  education,  and  gave  an  example  soon 
followed  by  other  schools. 

The  direct  influence  of  Italy  on  English  scholar- 
ship may  be  said  to  have  ended  with  the  generation 
succeeding  Grocyn  and  Linacre.  At  the  same  time, 
amid  the  blending  of  continental  influences  then 
apparent  in  English  culture,  it  would  be  unfair  not  to 
assign  proper  importance  to  the  strong  leavening  of 
Italian  thought  and  scholarly  training.  The  system 
which  Italy  had  built  up,  at  a time  when  the  rest  of 
Europe  was  still  in  the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
was  not  to  be  shattered  in  a day.  Its  intellectual  in- 
fluence could  not  so  quickly  be  shaken  off.  The 
brilliant  scholars  in  the  other  countries  of  Western 
Europe  who  then  began  to  make  their  appearance, 
had  all  imbibed  the  Italian  humanistic  training,  either 
directly  themselves  or  else  through  nameless  masters, 

1 Vide  Seebohm,  Oxford  Reformers , pp.  39,  1 5 1 et  seq. 
Lupton,  Life  of  Colet,  p.  51  et  seq. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


47 


who  transplanted  it  to  their  own  land.  The  Italian 
Renaissance  had  moreover,  given  a vast  impetus  to 
learning,  which  in  the  Middle  Ages  was  only  to  be 
found  at  the  universities  and  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
the  clergy.  The  courts  of  Europe  now  welcomed  it 
with  open  arms,  and  everywhere  men  sought  to  gather 
its  best  fruits,  whose  ancestors  had  either  scorned  it  as 
worthy  only  of  poor  clerks  or  else  ignored  it  entirely. 
Largely  owing  to  such  changes  as  these,  as  well  as 
to  progress  in  other  directions,  scholars  who  had  in 
former  years  been  either  of  the  academic  or  ecclesi- 
astical types,  were  now  divided  into  many  classes. 
A few  of  the  main  paths  along  which  scholars  found 
their  way  will  very  briefly  be  outlined. 

JThe  wandering  scholar  was  among  the  commonest 
of  mediaeval  types.  He  had  often  been  a man  with- 
out a country,  who  found  refuge  at  the  universities, 
or  else  with  patrons  of  learning.  In  the  Renaissance, 
Erasmus,  whom  four  nations  claim,  was  the  greatest 
example  of  the  wanderer.  An  Englishman,  by  the  name 
of  Florence  Volusenus,  was  of  this  type,  although 
on  an  inferior  scale.  At  the  same  time  that  he  sent 
political  information  to  Thomas  Cromwell,  he  was 
in  the  patronage  of  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  and 
then  of  Cardinal  du  Bellay.  His  real  interest  in  life 
was  supplied  however  by  scholarship.  He  tried  to 
go  to  Italy  to  gain  his  livelihood  at  a university;1 
failing  in  this,  he  was  appointed,  by  Sadolet’s  influ- 
ence, to  a professorship  of  humanities  at  Carpentras, 

1 Letters  and  Papers  of  Henry  VIII,  IX,  573. 


48  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


where,  ,save  for  occasional  visits  to  Italy,  he  passed 
the  remaining  years  of  his  life.  A similar  exile  was 
Pet^.  Bisset,  a graduate  of  St.  Andrew’s,  who  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  professor  of  canon  law  at 
Bologna.  Both  men  exemplified  certain  ideals  of 
the  age,  which  often  placed  learning  above  every- 
thing else,  and  made  the  scholar  find  a home  in  the 
land  where  his  intellectual  tastes  could  best  be 
gratified.  _ 

Antiquarianism  was  a new  direction  the  Renais- 
sance gave  to  learning,  and  John  Leland,  if  not  so 
early  as  William  Worcester,  was  yet  the  first  great 
English  antiquary.  Conforming  to  the  fashion  then 
beginning,  he  had  been  on  the  grand  tour ; and  after 
studying  abroad,  where  he  met  some  of  the  distin- 
guished humanists,  he  returned  with  a good  knowl- 
edge of  Italian.  Emulating  Bembo  and  his  school, 
he  showed  his  scholarly  tastes  in  his  works  on  the 
writers  of  his  own  country  no  less  than  in  his  Latin 
verse.  He  was  also  a tutor  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk’s 
son,  for  many  well-known  scholars  taught  then  in 
the  households  of  the  nobility.  The  influence  of  such 
masters  contributed  as  much  as  anything  else  to  foster- 
ing the  zeal  for  learning  among  the  upper  classes.  On 
the  other  hand  the  new  interest  in  learning  found  its 
way  to  court  and  royal  patronage  through  the  efforts  of 
a few  like  Sir  Thomas  More.  Of  greater  importance 
than  Leland  was  Sir  John  Cheke,  Secretary  of  State 
and  tutor  to  Edward  the  Sixth.  He  was  perhaps  the 
finest  example  of  a scholar  selected  to  teach  men 


THE  SCHOLAR 


49 


of  great  position.  He  had  also  been  long  in  Italy, 
especially  at  Padua,  where  he  lectured  and  seems, 
moreover,  to  have  exercised  a kind  of  general  supervi- 
sion over  all  Englishmen  in  residence  there.1  When 
i he  returned,  he  became  known  as  one  of  the  chief 
promoters  of  Greek  learning  in  England.  What  his 
real  influence  was  with  Edward  is  difficult  to  say,  as 
that  monarch’s  short  reign  offered  few  opportunities 
for  his  personal  advancement  of  culture.  The  king’s 
library,  however,  contained  many  Italian  books,2  urged 
on  him,  perhaps,  by  his  tutor. 

The  study  of  Greek,  once  established  at  Oxford  by 
Grocyn  and  Linacre,  had  not  been  long  in  spreading 
to  Cambridge,  where,  owing  to  Bishop  Fisher’s  influ- 
ence, it  was  allowed  to  develop  in  peace.  Erasmus,  ' 
then  professor  of  divinity,  taught  it  unofficially,3  but 
the  first  real  teacher  of  Greek  was  Richard  Croke,  who,  1 
like  many  Italians,  united  learning  with  diplomacy. 
In  this  double  capacity  he  had  been  sent  to  Italy  at 
the  suggestion  of  Cranmer,  to  collect  opinions  regard- 
ing the  king’s  divorce,  and  had  there  visited  the  chief 
centres  of  learning. 

The  early  work  done  in  science  by  Free  and  Linacre 
was  continued  by  Thomas  Starkey,  a Magdalen  man, 
who,  after  studying  at  Padua,  became  a lecturer  at 
Oxford.  The  famous  Dr.  Caius  had  also  been  at 
Padua;  later  in  life  he  founded  at  Cambridge  the 


// 


r/4-5 


It  ud 

6 


'^•t 

C‘A.  //’(J.i-ty  •- 

rf 


1 T.  Wilson,  The  Three  Orations  of  Demosthenes,  Preface. 

2 Nichols,  Literary  Remains  of  Edward  VI,  I,  cccxxxv. 

3 Jebb,  p.  27  et  seq. 

E 


50  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

medical  college,  designed  on  an  Italian  model,  which 
still  bears  his  name ; among  its  provisions  was  one 
which  stipulated  that  holders  of  travelling  medical 
scholarships  should  be  required  to  study  at  Padua, 
Bologna,  Montepulciano,  or  Paris.1 

The  Italian  Renaissance  was  first  known  in  England 
in  the  scholarly  world.  Its  progress  in  the  arts,  in 
social  life,  in  a hundred  ways,  did  not  come  until  after 
it  had  penetrated  the  intellectual  classes.  What  may 
therefore  be  called  the  first  period  of  Italian  influence 
in  England,  beginning  in  the  second  quarter  of  the 
fifteenth  century  and  lasting  for  a hundred  years,  was 
essentially  a scholarly  influence  which  found  its  home 
at  the  universities.  The  initial  impulse  toward  the 
new  learning  was  thus  given  by  Italy  to  England.  By 
holding  up  its  own  example  as  a model,  Italy  formed 
the  English  secular  type  of  scholar  and  directed  his 
intellectual  interests.  Its  influence,  however,  in  the 
scholarly  world  was  one  of  foundation  rather  than  of 
development.  It  was  paramount  in  assisting  the  one ; 
it  diminished  with  the  growth  of  the  other.  It  was 
practically  over  with  the  generation  which  followed 
after  Grocyn  and  Linacre,  when  English  scholarship 
was  developing  along  its  own  lines,  barely  affected  by 
foreign  influence.  Its  purpose  had  already  been  ac- 
complished in  the  very  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  new  learning  of  the  Italian  Renaissance 
had  been  transplanted  to  England,  the  new  type  of 
humanist  established  there.  The  influence  of  Italy 
1 Mullinger,  II,  163. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


51 


first  felt  by  Oxford  men  had  spread  thence  to  Cam- 
bridge, to  the  court,  the  homes  of  the  nobility,  the 
public  schools,  and  by  degrees  through  all  England. 

VI 

The  patronage  of  learning  which  has  always  been 
one  of  the  proudest  boasts  of  the  Catholic  Church 
existed  especially  in  the  Renaissance,  when  a genuine 
love  for  it  on  the  part  of  churchmen  atoned  for  many 
other  shortcomings.  The  higher  clergy,  moreover,  were 
mostly  university  men,  whose  scholarly  interests  had 
been  awakened  early  in  life,  and  who  later  were  placed 
in  a position  to  show  their  gratitude.  An  account  of 
Italian  influence  on  the  new  learning  in  England 
therefore  requires  some  brief  mention  at  least  of  the 
great  churchmen  who  aided  in  fostering  the  move- 
ment. 

The  many  ecclesiastical  ties  which  bound  all  Europe 
to  Rome  had  long  familiarized  the  English  clergy  with 
Italy.  Already  in  early  mediaeval  times  an  Englishman 
named  Nicholas  Breakspere,  had  ascended  the  papal 
throne  as  Adrian  the  Fourth.  During  the  long  period 
of  the  Crusades,  and  the  centuries  when  religious  en- 
thusiasm still  stirred  mankind,  English  pilgrims  passed 
as  a rule  through  Italy  on  their  way  to  Palestine.  So 
long  as  scholastic  theology  and  canon  law  were  studied 
as  much  at  Bologna  as  at  Oxford,  there  was  little  for 
Englishmen  to  bring  back  with  them.  A new  era 
dawned,  however,  when  the  wave  of  the  Renaissance 


52 


ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


swept  over  one  country  while  the  other  was  still  un- 
affected by  it. 

The  Church  Councils,  especially,  brought  the  prel- 
ates of  different  nations,  and  their  numerous  retinues, 
in  close  contact  with  one  another.  Henry  Chichely, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  after  returning  from  that  of 
Siena,  gave  valuable  gifts  to  Oxford,  and  founded  All 
Souls  College.  At  the  Council  of  Constance,  where 
gleams  of  the  new  humanism  for  the  first  time  crossed 
the  Alps,  Henry  Beaufort,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  and 
an  uncle  of  Henry  the  Fifth,  met  Poggio  Bracciolini 
and  invited  him  to  England. 

During  Poggio’s  residence  there,  from  1420  to 
14221,  while  he  himself  accomplished  little,  the  great 
Florentine  scholar  found  in  John  Stafford,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  Nicholas  Bildstone,  the  Archdeacon  of 
Winchester,  and  especially  Richard  Pettworth,  Beau- 
fort’s secretary,  men  of  considerable  cultivation.2  Still 
another  learned  prelate  of  this  early  period  was  Thomas 
Arundel,  also  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  corre- 
sponded with  the  scholarly  chancellor  of  Florence, 
Coluccio  de’  Salutati. 

English  learning,  however,  was  to  make  its  progress 
at  Oxford  and  not  in  the  ecclesiastical  centres.  Even 
such  churchmen  as  Grey,  Flemming  and  Gunthorpe 
were  to  assist  by  their  gifts  of  books  rather  than  their 
personal  example.  In  developing  the  new  learning, 
there  was  thus  at  the  outset  an  essential  difference  be- 

1 Vide  p.  180. 

2 Poggio,  Epistolie,  II,  12,  18,  20,  22,  35 ; V,  22,  etc. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


53 


tween  the  scholars  and  the  dignitaries  of  the  church. 
Both  were  university  men,  and  the  former  were  also 
for  the  most  part  in  orders ; but  their  preferments  as 
a rule  were  only  minor  ones.  The  work  in  which  they 
achieved  real  success  was  in  their  teaching  at  Oxford ; 
while  the  assistance  lent  the  cause  by  the  great  church- 
men came  rather  through  protecting  the  interests  of 
scholars,  as  well  as  in  gifts  and  donations  of  manu- 
scripts. 

Many  prelates,  however,  set  a personal  example  of 
learning,  among  whom  were  Bishop  Waynflete,  and 
Peter  Courtenay,  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  who  had  studied 
at  Padua.  Thomas  Langton,  too,  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, had  in  his  youth  been  in  Italy,  and  was  later 
sent  by  Richard  the  Third  on  an  embassy  to  Rome. 
Returning  to  England,  he  founded  a school  for  boys 
in  his  own  house  at  Winchester,  desiring  perhaps  to 
emulate  Vittorino  da  Feltre.  He  showed  further  in- 
terest in  the  new  learning  by  his  connection  with  Ox- 
ford, and  in  sending  Richard  Pace  to  study  in  Italy. 
The  many  churchmen  who  displayed  a similar  in- 
terest, or  were  in  some  way  connected  with  Italy,  are 
far  too  numerous  to  mention  here.  A few  examples 
only  of  the  learned  ecclesiastics  — a type  so  prominent 
in  the  Renaissance  — can  be  given.  Of  these  William 
Warham,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  was  among  the  most 
prominent.  After  having  been  at  Oxford,  he  visited 
Italy,  where  he  perhaps  developed  his  interest  in  letters. 
The  examples  of  the  great  Italian  cardinals  may  also 
have  urged  him  to  follow  them  in  his  patronage  of 


54  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


learning.  His  wit,  his  genial  temper  and  courtesy, 
no  less  than  his  own  culture,  made  him  the  friend  and 
protector  of  the  scholars  who  were  preaching  the  new 
learning  in  England.  To  Erasmus  he  was  “ my  special 
Maecenas  ” : 1 Warham’s  kindness  alone  kept  him  from 
seeking  the  rich  libraries  and  cultivated  circles  of  Rome.2 

A zeal  for  learning  and  the  patronage  of  scholars  be- 
came almost  an  affectation  on  the  part  of  the  higher 
clergy.  Some  like  Pace  and  Tunstall  had  studied  at 
Padua,  while  the  former  even  published  in  Venice  a 
portion  of  the  works  of  Plutarch,  which  he  dedicated 
to  Cardinal  Campeggio,  who  was  also  interested  in  the 
success  of  humanism  at  the  court.3  Stephen  Gardiner, 
too,  the  friend  of  Erasmus,  and  Richard  Foxe,  the 
founder  of  Corpus  Christi,  had  both  been  on  embassies 
to  Rome.  Edward  Bonner  was  also  eager  to  learn 
Italian.  In  all  ranks  of  the  church  an  interest  in  the 
new  learning  was  shown,  even  by  those  who  were  to 
leave  the  Roman  faith,  but  who  in  their  zeal  for  letters 
continued  former  traditions.  The  great  patrons  of 
learning  were  most  beneficial  in  establishing  scholarly 
foundations.  This  was  especially  true  of  Cambridge, 
where  the  new  learning  came  far  later  than  at  Oxford. 
During  the  entire  fifteenth  century  the  traces  of  Italian 
learning  were  barely  noticeable  there.  A copy  of 
Petrarch’s  poems  had,  it  is  true,  found  its  way  to  the 
library  of  Peterhouse  so  early  as  14 26. 4 A few  similar 
books  were  gradually  acquired,  and  John  Gunthorpe 


1 Epist.,  CXLIV. 
a Ibid.,  CLXVIII. 


8 Ibid.,  CCCCXXXVII. 
4 Mullinger,  I,  433. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


55 


left  some  of  his  manuscripts  to  Jesus  College.  Very 
few  indications  of  the  new  learning  can,  however,  be 
found,  although  an  Italian  named  Caius  Auberinus 
acted  as  Latin  scribe  toward  the  end  of  the  century, 
and  gave  in  addition  occasional  lectures  on  Terence.1 

The  impulse,  when  it  came,  was  chiefly  from  Bishop 
Fisher,  who,  encouraged  in  his  efforts  by  Lady  Mar- 
garet, was  determined  to  raise  Cambridge  to  the  level 
of  her  sister  university.  In  15  n,  he  summoned 
Erasmus,  who  for  a time  gave  unofficial  instruction 
in  Greek.  The  intellectual  condition  of  things  may 
be  judged  from  his  complaint  that  the  masters  at 
Cambridge  were  trying  to  bring  back  dialectics.2 
He  said  himself  he  did  his  best  to  deliver  the  rising 
generation  from  ignorance,  and  to  inspire  them  with 
a taste  for  better  studies.  Ten  years  later,  how- 
ever, he  was  able  to  write  differently,  and  declare  that 
Cambridge  could  then  compete  with  the  chief  univer- 
sities of  the  age.  Bishop  Fisher  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  this  improvement ; not  only 
did  he  assist  in  establishing  St.  John’s  College,  but  he 
founded  lectureships  as  well  in  Greek  and  Hebrew. 
His  generosity,  moreover,  enabled  Richard  Croke  to 
go  as  the  first  professor  of  Greek  to  Cambridge, 
instead  of  to  Oxford  where  his  friendship  with  Linacre 
and  More  would  naturally  have  led  him. 

Similar  foundations  were  also  established  at  Oxford, 
the  first  by  Richard  Foxe,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  who 

1 Cooper,  Athena,  I,  9. 

2 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Henry  VIII,  I,  No.  1404. 


56  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


endowed  Corpus  Christi  in  15x6.  This  was  a college 
founded  in  the  interests  of  humanism,  and  attracted 
for  that  reason  considerable  attention  ; for,  up  to  that 
time,  the  new  plant  had  been  grafted  on  the  old, 
usually  without  success.  In  the  statutes  of  Corpus 
Christi,  however,  all  former  hindrances  were  swept 
aside.  A public  lecturer  in  Greek  was  to  be  among 
its  principal  officers,  and  Greeks  and  Italians  were  de- 
clared especially  eligible  for  the  position.  A complete 
humanistic  education  was  required  of  its  graduates ; 
for  the  long  vacation,  the  works  of  Valla  and  Politian 
were  especially  recommended  as  subjects  of  study; 
candidates  for  scholarships,  in  addition  to  knowing  the 
ancient  writers  thoroughly,  must  themselves  be  able  to 
compose  Latin  verses,  although  in  ordinary  conversation 
within  the  college  Greek  was  thought  acceptable  as  a 
substitute  for  Latin.  By  such  means  as  these  it  was 
intended  that  “ all  barbarism  ” should  be  suppressed.1 

The  torrent  of  opposition  greeting  Foxe’s  daring 
innovations  was  ended  by  More’s  influence  at  the 
court,  and  Cardinal  Wolsey’s  similar  foundation  of 
Christ  Church,  which  he  endowed  from  the  revenues 
of  the  suppressed  monasteries.  Consent  for  this  was 
obtained  at  Rome  by  Wolsey’s  agent,  Ghinucci,  who 
was  also  instructed  to  search  for  books,  and  order 
copies  to  be  made  of  the  Greek  manuscripts  in  Italian 
libraries.2  Wolsey  made  a similar  request  of  the 
Venetian  envoy,  Orio,  requesting  him,  as  a great  favor, 

1 Maxwell-Lyte,  p.  412. 

2-Creighton,  p.  25. 


THE  SCHOLAR 


57 


to  ask  the  signory  for  transcripts,  for  the  college  library, 
of  the  Greek  manuscripts  which  had  belonged  to 
Cardinals  Grimani  and  Bessarion.1  The  college 
itself  was  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the  new  learning ; 
the  great  writers  of  antiquity  were  to  be  expounded 
daily,  and  all  conversation  conducted  in  either  Latin 
or  Greek.  The  foundation  of  similar  institutions  thus 
marked  the  final  overthrow  of  scholasticism  by  the 
new  learning  of  the  Renaissance.  Its  further  develop- 
ment at  both  Oxford  and  Cambridge  was  to  be  more 
especially  along  purely  English  lines. 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  new  learning  the  English 
scholar’s  dependence  and  example  came  almost  entirely 
from  Italy.  Even  much  later,  although  great  foreign 
scholars  like  Vives  and  Erasmus,  both  of  whom  aided 
so  largely  the  growth  of  English  learning,  were  not 
themselves  Italians,  yet  the  one  had  studied  long  in 
Italy,  while  the  other,  before  crossing  the  Alps,  had 
sought  instruction  at  Oxford  from  those  who  had 
themselves  studied  there.  So  far-reaching  was  the 
influence  of  Italy  in  the  sixteenth  century,  that  much 
which  may  seem  French  or  Spanish  at  first  glance  was, 
in  reality,  Italian,  but  once  removed. 

In  Italy,  therefore,  English  scholars  had  first  been 
taught  the  new  humanism,  while  English  churchmen 
found  there  an  example  for  their  patronage  of  letters. 
It  was  the  joint  effort  of  both  that  brought  about  the 
Renaissance  of  learning  in  England,  to  which  patron 
and  scholar  alike  contributed. 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  Ill,  515. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  COURTIER 
I 

In  the  last  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century  the 
nations  of  Western  Europe  began  to  pass  through 
similar  phases  in  their  transition  from  the  Middle  Ages 
to  the  Renaissance.  The  dominant  political  feature  of 
the  age  was  the  concentration  of  the  supreme  power 
of  the  state  in  the  person  of  one  sovereign  prince. 
This  had  begun  already  in  Italy,  where  petty  despots 
gathered  into  their  hands  the  power  of  the  nobility 
and  burghers,  whom  they  reconciled  to  the  loss  of 
political  liberty  by  the  attractions  and  splendor  of  their 
courts.  Similarly,  beyond  the  Alps  the  centralization 
of  the  sovereign  power  in  the  king  brought  with  it, 
on  the  one  hand,  a diminution  in  the  influence  of  the 
great  nobles,  while  on  the  other,  it  fostered  the  growth 
of  the  court.  Thus  it  came  about  that  the  political 
characteristic  of  the  age  was  likewise  to  mark  its 
social  development,  and  the  descendants  of  feudal 
lords  were  gradually  transformed  into  courtiers. 

Court  life  in  the  Renaissance  assumed  of  a sudden 
far  greater  importance  than  ever  before.  More  and 
more  the  activities  of  the  nation  centred  around  and 
emanated  from  it.  While  during  the  Middle  Ages 
58 


THE  COURTIER 


59 


every  castle  was  a miniature  court,  complete  in  itself, 
the  life  of  the  nation  was  now  focussed,  so  to 
speak,  around  one  sovereign,  about  whom  there 
gathered  the  best  in  the  land.  The  court  became 
almost  the  only  means  of  entering  the  service  of  the 
state,  which  at  that  time  depended  so  largely  on  royal 
favor.  It  led  as  a stepping-stone  to  the  great  careers 
of  arms,  diplomacy  and  administrative  employment. 
Whoever  found  favor  in  his  prince’s  eyes  might  well 
hope  to  be  intrusted  with  the  command  of  an  army, 
the  charge  of  an  embassy,  or  the  government  of  a 
province. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  Italian 
influences  began  to  appear  at  the  English  court. 
Through  the  scholars,  the  new  humanism  had  spread 
from  Oxford  to  this  larger  sphere,  where  it  could  more 
readily  be  felt ; a noticeable  growth,  moreover,  had 
taken  place  in  direct  intercourse  with  Italy.  The 
Dukes  of  Ferrara  and  Urbino  were  on  the  friendliest 
footing  with  Henry  the  Seventh,1  and  he  himself 
employed  numerous  Italians  in  his  personal  service  : 
among  others  there  may  be  mentioned  Silvestro  Gigli, 
his  master  of  ceremonies,  Polydore  Vergil,  his  friend, 
historian  and  adviser,  and  his  poet,  Peter  Carmeliano. 
In  its  hearty  welcome  to  Italians,  the  English  court  in 
the  sixteenth  century  was  only  following  the  example 
of  France  and  Spain.  Monarchs  could,  indeed,  find 
their  most  servile  adherents  in  these  foreigners,  who 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.  Ven.,  VI,  Pt.  Ill,  1603  et  seq.  Dennistoun, 
Memoirs  of  the  Dukes  of  Urbino,  II,  443  et  seq. 


60  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


without  ties  binding  them  to  their  adopted  land  were 
courtiers  and  diplomats  by  nature.  Another  reason, 
moreover,  added  to  their  success.  A new  type  of 
courtier  had  grown  up  in  Italy.  At  the  courts  of 
Urbino,  Mantua  and  Ferrara,  a higher  conception 
had  been  formed  of  what  the  companion  of  the  prince 
ought  to  be  ; his  manners  and  accomplishments 
became  an  outward  reflection  of  the  new  life  of  the 
Renaissance,  infusing  its  spirit  in  the  court.  By  de- 
grees these  were  formed  into  a system  ready  to  be 
taught  as  a part  of  the  courtier’s  education.  A definite 
and  distinct  type  having  thus  gradually  been  created  in 
Italy,  the  courtier  who  had  received  this  training  be- 
came superior  to  any  other.  During  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, England  in  common  with  the  other  nations  of 
Western  Europe  acquired  considerable  familiarity  with 
this  new  type,  through  the  observation  of  Italians  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  partly,  too,  through  the  trans- 
lation of  Italian  books,  especially  of  such  as  related  to 
manners  ; from  these  could  be  obtained  the  new  theory 
of  the  courtier  as  it  presented  itself  to  the  Italians  of 
the  Renaissance. 

It  was  especially  in  Italy  that  the  inquiring  spirit 
of  the  race  endeavored  to  analyze  the  principles 
of  conduct  determining  all  matters  of  social  inter- 
course ; hence  great  numbers  of  manuals  of  cour- 
tesy, and  guides  to  conversation,  were  written  there. 
Conversation  and  courtesy  were  then  treated  almost 
as  fine  arts,  which  could  both  be  taught  and  prac- 
tised. Books  professing  to  give  such  instruction 


THE  COURTIER 


6 1 


endeavored  to  direct  the  entire  social  existence  of  man, 
advising  him  even  in  regard  to  the  most  intimate  de- 
tails of  life.  Two  kinds  of  such  courtesy  books  can 
be  distinguished  in  the  literature  of  the  age  : the  one 
intended  for  men  in  general,  gave  sound  advice  in  the 
direction  of  refinement  of  manners  ; the  other,  on  the 
contrary,  confined  its  attention  to  the  courtier  class, 
quite  unconcerned  with  the  ordinary  individual.  Della 
Casa’s  Galateo  and  Castiglione’s  Cortegiano  severally 
were  the  representatives  of  each  type.  Although  writ- 
ten in  Italian  their  influence  was  in  fact  European,  and 
they  were  well  known  in  translations  throughout  West- 
ern Europe.  Any  account  of  court  life  in  England  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  would,  indeed,  be  incomplete 
without  attention  to  such  books,  which  both  gave  a 
definite  expression  to  the  underlying  principles  of  the 
courtier’s  art,  and  advocated  likewise  a new  ideal 
of  social  conduct.  Scores  of  allusions  can  be  found 
to  these  books  in  the  English  literature  of  the  age, 
and  especially  to  the  Cortegiano,  which  in  itself 
may  almost  be  said  to  have  given  voice  to  the  un- 
defined mass  of  Italian  influences  at  the  Tudor  court, 
and  assisted  in  forming  in  England  the  new  type  of 
courtier. 


II 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  even  more  than  now,  the 
question  as  to  what  constituted  a gentleman  was  dis- 
cussed among  the  living  problems  of  the  age.  This 
great  subject  centred  around  the  respective  merits  of 


62  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


nobility  by  birth  and  nobility  by  virtue.1  Different, 
often  contrary,  views  were  expressed  on  the  subject, 
but  opinions  tended  to  group  themselves  in  two  separate 
camps.  On  the  one  side  was  the  so-called  popular  idea 
which  considered  nobility  to  be  by  birth  alone,  and 
seemed  to  think  it  showed  itself  in  a tone  of  luxury  and 
sport,  an  overbearing  manner  and  a quick  temper.2 
On  the  other  was  the  opinion  of  alleged  “ philosophers,” 
who  maintained  that  since  all  men  owed  equally  their 
origin  to  God,  in  whom  the  highest  nobility  found  its 
centre,  every  one,  irrespective  of  birth,  was  noble  so 
long  as  he  lived  a virtuous  life  ; if,  however,  he  inclined 
toward  vice,  he  was  base,  no  matter  from  whom  he 
traced  his  descent.3  Between  these  two  extremes 
most  opinions  varied.  Especially  debatable  were  the 
qualifications  necessary  to  the  eligibility  of  the  courtier 
—a  question  of  the  greatest  importance,  since  gentle- 
men then  found  an  active  career  open  at  court.  It  was 
thought  by  some  that  the  courtier  should  be  a gentle- 
man born  and  of  good  family  ; his  nobility,  however, 
was  not  to  excuse  in  him  any  lack  of  virtue,  since  such 
deficiency  would  be  far  less  reprehensible  in  one  of 
low  birth  than  in  a gentleman.  Others  argued  in  favor 
of  wit  and  beauty  taking  the  place  of  noble  descent. 
Still  a third  eminently  practical  view  was  held  by  some. 
Although  high  virtues,  it  was  acknowledged,  were 
often  present  in  one  of  base  extraction,  yet  the  courtier 

1 Vide  Nennio,  or  a Treatise  of  Nobility. 

2 Humphrey,  The  Nobles  or  of  Nobility. 

3 Romei,  Courtier's  Academy,  p.  187  et  set/. 


THE  COURTIER 


63 


should  be  of  noble  birth,  since  prejudice  played  so 
large  a role  in  all  human  affairs,  and  people  respected 
noblemen  far  more,  although  their  qualities  were  no 
greater.1  The  first  view  prevailed  for  the  most  part, 
especially  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Liberal  opinion  complained  bitterly  that  “ the  world 
commonly  reputeth  gentry  by  birth  as  legitimate,  and 
gentry  by  virtue  as  bastardly  and  far  inferior  to  the 
other  . . . [Men  had]  rather  be  born  gentlemen 
and  have  nothing  in  the  world  but  their  rapier  and 
cloak,  than  to  be  descended  of  base  parentage  and  to 
be  senators  or  presidents.” 2 Virtue,  however,  was 
thought  by  all  to  be  the  first  cause  of  nobility,  and  its 
truest  expression  was  said  to  consist  in  its  union  with 
famous  ancestry.3  He  who  was  noble  without  vir- 
tue, or  virtuous  without  nobility,  could  never  prop- 
erly be  termed  a gentleman.4  Even  such  of  the  later 
writers  as  were  imbued  with  a more  democratic  spirit 
recognized  the  advantages  of  noble  descent.  A senti- 
ment frequently  expressed  was  that  one  ought  not  to 
boast  of  ancient  lineage  but  prove  one’s  self  worthy  of 
it.  It  was  said  that  the  great  advantage  of  noble 
blood  was  in  making  men  ashamed  to  degenerate 
from  the  virtue  and  valor  of  their  ancestors.5  Lau- 
rence Humphrey  only  echoed  Castiglione  in  his  say- 
ing that  faults  were  far  more  excusable  in  one  of  base 

1 Castiglione,  The  Courtier , p.  44  et  seq. 

2 Guazzo,  Civil  Conversations,  f.  83  et  seq. 

3 Humphrey,  op.  cit.  * Romei,  p.  225  et  seq . 

5 Guazzo,  f.  86. 


64  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


extraction  than  in  a nobleman  of  famous  lineage. 
Italian  views  on  this  and  kindred  subjects  were  fre- 
quently repeated  in  England,  with  a certain  moral 
element  usually  added  to  them.  English  writers  on 
this  topic,  from  Sir  Thomas  Elyot,  Humphrey,  the 
anonymous  author  of  The  Institution  of  a Gentleman 
and  still  later,  William  Segar,  were  all  familiar  with  the 
works  of  Italians,  from  whom  they  frequently  quoted, 
often  without  acknowledging  their  indebtedness.  The 
theory  of  the  gentleman  was,  however,  a far  more 
popular  subject  of  discussion  in  Italy  than  in  England, 
where  its  echoes  were  mostly  of  Italian  origin,  and 
but  few  original  views  were  set  forth. 

A question  often  discussed  was  the  compatibility  of 
commerce  with  nobility.  It  was  urged  by  some  that  the 
Venetians  and  Genoese,  who  thought  themselves  the 
first  gentlemen  in  the  world,  considered  it  no  disgrace 
to  be  merchants  as  well.1  The  great  argument  ad- 
vanced in  favor  of  trade  was  the  practical  one  that 
nobility  could  neither  be  brought  to  perfection  with- 
out wealth  nor  be  preserved  without  money.  Even  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  riches  played  a far  greater  part  in 
the  consideration  of  the  gentleman  than  is  commonly 
supposed.  Money,  however,  of  itself  was  not  sufficient 
to  ennoble  a man,  although  three  generations  of  wealth 
might  suffice  to  do  so.2  On  the  other  hand,  poverty 
would  often  force  a man  to  marry  a woman  of  low 
birth,  and  thus  debase  his  blood.3  If  any  conclusion 

1 Segar,  Honor , Military  and  Civil,  ch.  18. 

2 Romei,  p.  187.  3 Guazzo,  f.  89. 


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65 


was  reached  at  all  in  regard  to  the  part  played  by 
riches,  it  was,  perhaps,  that  though  they  could  add  in 
no  degree  to  gentry,  yet  they  permitted  certain  virtues 
pertaining  to  it  to  be  practised,  which  poverty  did  not 
allow.  A mere  vulgar  exhibition  of  wealth  was,  how- 
ever, frowned  on  severely,  while  those  who  called  them- 
selves gentlemen,  simply  because  they  could  afford  to 
live  idly,  were  sharply  censured.1 

Underneath  the  surface,  especially  during  the  latter 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a strong  democratic  ten- 
dency can  be  observed,  which  revealed  itself  chiefly  in 
the  growing  importance  assigned  to  such  qualities  in 
the  individual  as  were  independent  of  birth.  Humble 
parentage  had  never  been  a bar  to  success  in  England 
where  real  ability  forced  its  way  to  the  front  at  all  times, 
and  especially  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when  many 
commoners  were  ennobled.  It  was  usually  accepted 
that  children  of  men  of  distinction  were  gentlemen, 
regardless  of  their  parents’  birth.2  The  new  Italian 
idea  of  gentlemanliness,  which  was  penetrating  Eng- 
land, was  to  include,  moreover,  such  men  as  had  for- 
merly been  debarred  in  theory.  Whoever  had  studied 
the  laws  of  the  realm,  had  been  at  the  university,  or 
professed  the  liberal  sciences,  whoever  could  live 
without  manual  labor,  and  bear  the  port,  charge,  and 
countenance  of  a gentleman  should  be  taken  for  one.3 
A reaction  naturally  followed ; men  complained  that 
the  old  ideal  of  gentlemanliness  had  been  suffered 


i 


1 Romei,  p.  226  et  seq.  2 Institution  of  a Gentleman. 
3 Sir  Thomas  Smith,  Commonwealth  of  England,  p.  37. 


66  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


to  decay,  that  many  who  were  no  better  than  handi- 
craftsmen had  assumed  the  title  and  bore  the  arms 
which  rightly  belonged  to  the  old  gentry.  “ As  for 
gentlemen,  they  be  made  good  cheap  in  England,” 
wrote  Sir  Thomas  Smith,1  with  ill-concealed  dislike 
for  this  new  democratic  movement. 

More  and  more,  however,  new  tests  of  learning, 
civility  and  virtue  were  applied  to  the  judgment  of 
the  gentleman.  It  was  even  maintained  that  only 
such  as  excelled  in  an  art  or  science  acquired  thereby 
a true  nobility,  far  superior  to  one  of  birth  or  descent.2 
This  nobility  should  spring  from  inward  virtue,  and  not 
consist  merely  of  outward  form.3  Men  were  to  be 
respected  not  by  reason  of  their  ancestors,  but  for 
such  virtues  as  were  within  them.  The  self-made 
gentleman  possessed  a twofold  advantage  over  the 
gentleman  only  by  birth  : the  first  was  virtue,  the  other 
courtesy,  “ the  right  ornament  of  a gentleman  ; for  of 
courtesy  and  gentleness,  he  is  termed  a gentleman.” 4 
Some  even  argued  that  it  was  an  impossibility  for  men 
to  be  gentlemen  who  had  no  other  qualification  than 
their  birth.  “ If  they  be  uncivil  how  are  they  gentle- 
men? and  if  they  be  gentlemen  how  are  they  un- 
civil? . . . Gentry  and  renown  is  not  got  by  our 
birth  but  by  our  life,  yea,  and  sometimes  by  our 
death.” 5 

1 Commonwealth  of  Englatid,  p.  37. 

2 V.  Saviolo,  his  Practise,  Preface. 

8 Humphrey,  op.  cit. 

* Guazzo,  ff.  85  b,  88.  6 Ibid.,  ff.  85  b,  92. 


THE  COURTIER 


67 


A loftier  and  more  democratic  ideal  of  what  the 
perfect  gentleman  ought  to  be  had  arisen  in  Italy,  and 
found  its  way  to  England.  It  was  no  longer  sufficient 
to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  worthy  predecessors  : 
“Whoso  vaunteth  of  his  ancestors  seemeth  without 
any  good  thing  of  his  own.”1  The  new  conception  of 
gentlemanliness  by  personal  effort,  which  sprang  up, 
looked  rather  to  individual  virtu  than  to  outward 
factors.  This  feeling  was  well  expressed  by  a con- 
temporary writer  : “ If  it  be  a great  delight  for  a 
man  to  know  that  from  time  to  time  out  of  his  house 
(as  out  of  the  Trojan  horse)  there  have  issued  captains, 
colonels,  and  knights,  . . . how  much  more  shall  it 
be  to  him,  who  may  say  that  he  hath,  according  to 
the  proverb,  wings  broader  than  the  nest,  and  by  the 
excellence  of  his  deeds,  and  sufficiency  in  learning  and 
feats  of  arms,  hath  surpassed  the  deserts,  dignities,  and 
degrees  of  his  predecessors,  and  alone,  as  it  were,  car- 
ried away  the  prize.  ” 2 

The  influence  of  this  new  democratic  doctrine  of 
the  Renaissance  extended  beyond  the  Alps.  Even 
though  in  practice  it  was  not  to  be  realized  till  cen- 
turies later,  it  yet  found  frequent  expression  in  litera- 
ture and  life.  At  the  very  court  of  Elizabeth  it  was 
echoed  by  William  Segar,  almost  as  a promise  of  the 
future  liberty  and  freedom  of  the  individual  to  rise 
by  his  own  merits.  The  doctrine  upheld  by  the  Italians 
of  the  Renaissance  was  later  to  be  realized  among 
English-speaking  people.  “ I say  that  the  true  no- 


1 Segar,  Book  of  Honor,  p.  34. 


2 Guazzo,  f.  87. 


68  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


bility  of  man  is  virtue,  and  that  he  is  truly  noble  that 
is  virtuous,  be  he  born  of  high  or  low  parents ; and 
the  more  highly  he  be  born,  the  worse  reputation 
he  meriteth,  if  he  cannot  continue  the  honor  left  him 
by  his  ancestors.” 1 


III 

The  Renaissance,  more  than  any  period  in  the 
modern  world,  endeavored  to  develop,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  different  faculties  of  man.  The  ideal  of 
universality,  once  aimed  at,  was  consciously  pursued 
and  attained  by  the  best  spirits  of  the  age.  This  was 
especially  true  in  Italy,  where  the  perfect  man  of 
the  Renaissance  strove  for  excellence  in  every  branch 
of  human  activity,  both  intellectual  and  physical,  try- 
ing at  the  same  time  to  be  statesman  and  athlete,  poet 
and  scientist,  philosopher  and  courtier.  The  excel- 
lence of  the  courtier,  however,  was  by  no  means 
limited  to  the  qualities  of  his  mind.  He  was  to 
possess  every  grace  and  accomplishment,  but  never 
to  push  into  undue  prominence  what  he  did  well ; 
nor  even  appear  to  have  given  much  time  or  study  to 
it,  since  that  wouldj/flave  spoiled  the  artistic  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  spectator.2  Everything  was  therefore  to 
be  done  with  grace,  as  though  presenting  no  difficulty. 
He  was  to  be  nimble,  quick  and  light,  continually 
showing  pluck  and  spirit ; good  at  all  games  and  excel- 
ling at  the  tourney,  in  hunting,  swimming,  leaping,  run- 
ning and  casting  the  stone ; even  tennis  and  vaulting 


1 Segar,  p.  34. 


2 Castiglione,  p.  1 15. 


THE  COURTIER 


69 


were  recommended.  On  the  other  hand,  tumbling, 
climbing  a rope  and  jugglers’  tricks  should  never  be 
practised  by  the  courtier,  who  ought  to  preserve  his 
dignity  in  all  his  actions.  Above  everything  else,  the 
superiority  of  his  station  in  life  was  to  be  real,  not 
merely  a matter  of  convention  ; thus,  if  he  wrestled  or 
ran  with  countrymen,  he  should  appear  to  do  so  for 
courtesy  only,  and  not  to  win ; but  first  he  must  be 
sure  of  himself ; “ for  it  is  too  ill  a sight  ...  to  see 
a gentleman  overcome  by  a carter,  and  especially  in 
wrestling.” 1 This  scorn  of  social  inferiority,  it  may 
be  remarked,  was  by  no  means  universal.  In  later 
years,  especially,  a kindlier  and  more  democratic  view 
was  often  taken  of  the  relations  which  ought  to  exist 
between  the  different  classes.  Gentlemen  were  urged 
not  to  despise  the  society  of  their  social  inferiors,  who 
would  love  and  honor  them  in  consequence.  “ There 
is  no  more  difference  between  the  gentleman  and  the 
yeoman  than  there  is  between  two  bricks  made  of 
selfsame  earth,  whereof  the  one  is  set  in  the  top  of 
a tower,  the  other  in  the  bottom  of  a well.” 2 

It  is  curious  to  think  that  England,  which  to-day 
claims  superiority  in  sport,  should  have  submitted  in 
the  sixteenth  century  to  Italian  methods  and  instruc- 
tion. The  accomplishments  and  pleasures  of  the  courtly 
life  had,  however,  first  been  systematized  in  Italy,  and 
in  sport,  as  well,  its  guidance  was  supreme.  Even  in 
horsemanship,  Edward  the  Sixth  had  his  Italian  riding- 
master  at  the  court ; another  Italian,  known  as  Alex- 


1 Castiglione,  p.  115. 


2 Guazzo,  f.  90  b. 


70  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

ander,  who  had  studied  under  the  celebrated  Gri- 
sone,  also  taught  in  England,  and  to  him  was  ascribed, 
in  part,  the  improvement  in  English  teachers  of  riding. 
Elsewhere  it  was  the  same ; Sidney  spoke  of  Pietro 
Pugliano  at  the  Emperor’s  court  instructing  his  pupils 
both  in  the  practice  and  theory  of  horsemanship,  and 
even  later  Robert  Dallington  advised  his  traveller  to 
learn  riding  under  II  Signor  Rustico  at  Florence.1  The 
first  English  book  on  horsemanship  was  Blundevile’s 
translation  of  Grisone,  which  appeared  about  1560. 
What  Alexander  had  failed  to  accomplish  was  left  for 
this  book  to  effect ; after  its  publication,  says  Beding- 
field,  riding-masters  who  before  “ were  not  of  much 
knowledge  ” improved  considerably.  The  popularity 
of  similar  books  was  very  great.  Bedingfield  was  only 
one  among  their  numerous  translators.2  Even  Florio 
gave  as  a reason  for  his  Italian  dictionary,  that  with- 
out it  English  gentlemen  would  be  unable  to  under- 
stand Grifonio’s  work  on  riding. 

In  falconry,  and  hunting  as  well,  George  Turbervile, 
in  one  of  the  most  elaborately  prepared  books  of  the 
age,  openly  acknowledged  his  debt  to  the  many  Italian 
writers  on  the  subject.3  It  was  in  fencing,  however, 
then  so  essential  a part  of  the  gentleman’s  education, 
that  the  skill  of  the  Italian  showed  itself  to  the  greatest 
advantage.  Even  the  Italian  terms  of  the  art  were 
employed  in  England.  English  travellers  were  advised 

1 Method  for  Travel. 

2 Art  of  Riding,  translated  by  Thomas  Bedingfield. 

3 The  Book  of  Falconry  or  Hawking. 


THE  COURTIER 


71 


when  abroad,  to  study  fencing  either  at  Padua  under 
11  Sordo  or  else  at  Rome.1  This  was  scarcely  neces- 
sary, however,  since  numerous  Italian  masters  of  the  art 
gave  instruction  in  England.  George  Silver  mentioned 
three  such  schools  in  London.2  A Signor  Rocco  had  one 
in  Warwick  Lane,  which  he  called  a college,  where  “ he 
taught  none  commonly  under  twenty,  forty,  fifty  or  an 
hundred  pounds.”  On  the  walls  of  his  school,  according 
to  Silver’s  contemporary  description,  hung  the  coats- 
of-arms  of  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  were  his 
pupils,  and  beneath  these  were  their  rapiers,  daggers 
and  gauntlets.  He  even  had  a room  he  called  “ his 
privy  school,  with  many  weapons  therein,  where  he 
did  teach  his  scholars  his  secret  fight,  after  he  had 
perfectly  taught  them  their  rules.” 3 In  addition  to 
its  ordinary  use,  the  school  was  also  a sort  of  club  for 
the  young  gallants  of  the  court  who  found  there  “ ink, 
pin-dust  and  sealing  wax,  and  quires  of  very  excellent 
fine  paper  gilded,  ready  for  the  noblemen  and  gentle- 
men upon  occasion  to  write  their  letters.”4 

The  most  celebrated,  however,  of  the  Italian  fencing- 
masters  in  England  was  Vincenzo  Saviolo,  who  had  as 
patron  the  Earl  of  Essex.  Saviolo  has  been  described 
as  the  perfect  fencer  by  Florio,  in  words  which  Shake- 
speare almost  certainly  knew  — “ He  will  hit  any  man, 
be  it  with  a thrust  or  stoccata,  with  an  imbroccada  or 
a charging  blow,  with  a right  or  reverse  blow,  be  it 

1 Dallington,  Method for  Travel. 

2 Paradoxes  of  Defence. 

8 Ibid.,  p.  65.  4 Ibid.,  p.  64. 


72  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

with  the  edge,  with  the  back,  or  with  the  flat,  even  as 
it  liketh  him.”1 

The  Italian  schools  of  fencing  enjoyed  a great  success 
in  London.  Their  methods  of  instruction,  like  their 
weapons,  were  both  new  to  Englishmen,  but  proved 
none  the  less  popular  in  an  age  when  novelty  was 
appreciated  for  its  own  sake.  Their  pupils  were 
even  taught  to  wear  leaden  soles  in  their  shoes,  to 
be  the  more  nimble-footed  in  a fight.  An  Eng- 
lish fencing-master  of  the  time  complained  bitterly 
that  his  art,  like  fashions  of  dress,  changed  every 
day ; that  Englishmen  had  forsaken  their  fathers’  vir- 
tues with  their  weapons,  and  lusted  after  the  strange 
devices  of  Italian  fencers  and  their  imitators  : “ O you 
Italian  teachers  of  defence,  where  are  your  stoccaias, 
imbroccatas,  mandritas,  puntas,  and  punta  reversas, 
stramisons,  passatas,  carricadas,  amazzas,  and  incarta- 
tas.  . . . apish  devices  with  all  the  rest  of  your  squint- 
eyed  tricks.” 2 

The  influence  of  this  new  Italian  school  made  itself 
felt,  however,  in  different  ways.  Among  its  other 
effects  was  the  improvement  of  manners.  Even  George 
Silver,  who  hated  the  Italians  as  dangerous  rivals,  felt 
obliged  to  concede  this : “ It  hath  been  commonly 
held  that  since  the  Italians  have  taught  the  rapier 
fight,  by  reason  of  the  dangerous  use  thereof,  it  hath 
bred  great  civility  amongst  our  English  nation,  they 
will  not  give  the  lie,  nor  with  such  foul  speeches  abuse 

1 Second  Fruites,  p.  119. 

2 Silver,  p.  55.  Vide  Marston,  Works,  III,  373. 


THE  COURTIER 


73 


themselves ; therefore  there  are  fewer  frays  in  these 
times  than  were  wont  to  be.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
this  is  so,  that  we  are  more  circumspect  in  our  words 
than  heretofore  we  have  been.”  1 

Italian  treatises  on  fencing  also  enjoyed  great  popu- 
larity in  England  ; Giacomo  de  Grassi’s  True  Art  of 
Defaice  treated  in  detail  the  theory  of  the  art,  with 
illustrations  and  diagrams  describing  the  various  kinds 
of  weapons  used,  rapier  and  halberd,  partesan  and 
javelin,  and  also  of  the  falsing  of  blows  and  thrusts. 
Saviolo’s  Practise,  dedicated  to  “ the  English  Achilles,” 
Robert,  Earl  of  Essex,  obtained,  however,  a far  greater 
celebrity,  and  still  remains  of  interest  as  the  great  source 
from  which  the  Elizabethan  dramatists  acquired  their 
knowledge  of  duelling. 

Saviolo’s  work  in  combining  practice  with  theory 
illustrated  one  of  the  causes  of  Italian  success  in 
such  matters.  Not  only  was  the  practical  side  of 
his  art  treated  at  length,  but  selections  from  well- 
known  historians  were  also  given.  A large  part  of 
the  book  was  further  taken  up  by  discussion ; thus, 
the  point  of  honor,  and  the  relations  to  be  observed 
between  men  under  strained  circumstances,  were 
treated.  From  his  warnings,  some  idea  can  be  had  of 
the  frequency  of  treachery  in  such  matters ; for  in- 
stance, it  was  thought  unwise  to  ask  to  see  another 
man’s  rapier,  since  it  gave  an  opportunity  to  kill  an 
unsuspecting  enemy.  He  alluded  also  to  the  cow- 
ardly practice  of  hiring  bravos  to  aid  in  murdering  an 
1 Op.  cit.,  p.  56. 


74  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


adversary,  by  no  means  an  uncommon  thing  at  that 
time.  Even  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  returning  from  his 
travels  abroad,  had  with  great  difficulty  been  dissuaded 
from  employing  this  Italian  custom  to  revenge  himself 
on  Sidney.  Other  dangers  were  to  be  guarded  against 
as  well ; thus,  friends  coming  up  suddenly  in  the 
midst  of  an  encounter,  as  though  to  separate  the  com- 
batants, might  treacherously  slay  their  favorite’s  oppo- 
nent. He  spoke  also  of  quarrels,  beginning  between 
two  or  three  men,  and  then  spreading  until  whole  fami- 
lies were  engaged  in  them,  and  often  not  ending  with- 
out great  bloodshed.1  Saviolo,  like  Castiglione,  advised 
gentlemen  to  keep  close  guard  over  their  tongues, 
neither  to  bear  slander  nor  tell  tales,  and  always  to 
behave  rightly  to  men  of  inferior  station.  To  illustrate 
his  point,  he  related  the  story  of  a wrestling  match, 
which  later  Shakespeare  made  use  of  in  As  You  Like 
It.  Saviolo’s  tale  was  of  an  overbearing  Moor  van- 
quished by  Rodomont,  the  Duke  of  Mantua’s  brother, 
who  though  himself  a wild  sort  of  fellow,  would  yet 
not  “ suffer  so  beastly  a creature  to  stain  the  honor  of 
Italian  gentlemen.”  Touchstone’s  description  of  the 
different  kinds  of  lies 2 was  likewise  taken  almost  cer- 
tainly from  Saviolo,  who  discussed  conditional  and 
foolish  lies,  lies  in  particular  and  lies  in  general.3 

1 It  was  perhaps  some  similar  sentence  which  first  suggested 
the  dramatic  possibilities  of  Romeo  and  Juliet , and  gave  Eliza- 
bethan playwrights  an  insight  into  the  feuds  of  Italian  cities. 

2 As  You  Like  It,  V,  iv,  70  et  seq. 

3 A similar  account  may  be  found  in  Segar’s  Book  of  Honor 
and  Arms,  1590. 


THE  COURTIER 


75 


According  to  Saviolo,  giving  the  lie  was  at  the  bottom 
of  most  duels,  and  he  therefore  cited  the  Italian  code 
of  duelling  to  be  used  on  such  occasions. 

Even  in  that  age  the  ethics  of  the  duel  were  in  de- 
bate. Men  argued  on  the  wickedness  of  private  com- 
bat,1 and  Bryskett  in  his  rendering  of  Giraldi  Cinthio, 
condemned  duels  as  “ contrary  to  all  virtue,  odious  to 
all  laws,  to  all  good  magistrates,  and  to  God  himself,2” 
saying  that  the  way  to  shake  off  an  injury  was  to 
despise  it.3  Saviolo,  without  discussing  the  moral 
side  of  the  duel,  described  the  proper  etiquette  to  be 
observed,  the  forms  of  cartels  and  letters  of  defiance, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  were  to  be  sent ; he 
entered  also  into  conduct  on  the  duelling  ground, 
the  treatment  of  the  vanquished  and  the  inequality  of 
adversaries ; his  advice  was,  that  excommunicated 
persons,  usurers,  and  all  who  did  not  live  as  gentlemen 
or  soldiers,  should  be  refused  satisfaction  in  honorable 
combat. 

Saviolo’s  book  was  probably  the  first  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  ever  written  by  an  Italian.  It  stated 
openly  the  Italian  ideal  of  arms  and  letters,  weapons 
and  books,  as  the  two  sources  of  greatness.  By  the 
one,  the  small  man  could  overcome  the  larger,  the  weak 
the  stronger ; by  the  other,  man  could  raise  himself  to 
any  height  by  his  own  unaided  merits.  The  entire 
Renaissance  conception  of  the  dignity  of  the  individual 
lay  in  these  words,  the  spirit  of  which  gave  conscious 

1 Romei,  p.  129. 

2 Discourse  of  Civil  Life , p.  70.  8 Ibid.,  p.  77. 


y6  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


assurance  to  the  Italians  in  their  careers  beyond  the 
Alps,  making  a Rizzio  prime  minister  of  Scotland,  and 
the  descendants  of  Florentine  bankers  queens  of 
France. 

The  revival  of  the  tourney  was  still  another  courtly 
practice  which  England  copied  largely  from  Italy. 
Jousting  as  a court  amusement  became  fashionable 
once  more  in  Elizabeth’s  time.  Sir  Christopher  Hat- 
ton, well  known  as  a patron  of  letters,  and  himself  a 
student  of  Italian,  was  especially  prominent  among 
those  who  revived  it.  William  Segar,  garter  king-at- 
arms,  in  his  Honor , Military  and  Civil,  alluded  fre- 
quently to  Italian  practices,  describing  their  method  of 
conducting  tournaments.1  At  Urbino  and  Ferrara, 
jousting  had  long  been  regarded  as  an  amusement  of 
the  court;  even  Castiglione  had  advised  his  courtier 
how  to  conduct  himself  at  the  tourney;  never,  for 
instance,  to  be  last  in  the  lists,  since  women,  especially, 
paid  far  greater  attention  to  the  first  than  to  the  last.2 

In  many  other  courtly  practices,  as  well,  the  influ- 
ence of  Italy  was  felt.  Hall,  in  his  Chronicle,  described 
the  first  mask  held  at  court  in  1512-13,  as  being  in  the 
Italian  fashion.  “ On  the  Day  of  Epiphany,  at  night, 
the  King  with  eleven  others  were  disguised  after  the 
manner  of  Italy,  called  a Mask,  a thing  not  seen  before 
in  England.”  The  very  names  of  Maskelyn  and  Mas- 
culers,  occurring  in  the  Records  of  the  Revels,  point  to 
the  Italian  equivalents  of  Maschera  and  Mascherati? 

1 Ch.  50.  2 Castiglione,  p.  1 14. 

3 Symonds,  Shakespeare's  Predecessors,  p.  320. 


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77 


The  best  artists  of  the  period  lent  their  assistance  to 
contribute  to  the  success  of  these  masks ; the  records 
still  exist  of  two  Italians,  Vincent  Vulpe  and  Ellis 
Carmyan,  who  had  been  engaged  in  their  decoration 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth.1  Even  Holbein 
was  similarly  employed,  while  considerably  later  Inigo 
Jones  did  not  consider  it  beneath  his  dignity  to  devise 
and  introduce  new  stage  mechanisms  which  he  had 
learned  in  Italy. 

The  Venetian  Spinelli  left  an  account  of  one  of  the 
earlier  masks,  which  was  presented  at  court  in  1527, 
and  may  be  given  as  an  example  of  the  early  scenic 
development  of  similar  spectacles  in  England.  To  de- 
scribe it  very  briefly  : admission  to  the  hall  in  which  it 
took  place  was  through  a lofty  triumphal  arch,  fashioned 
after  the  antique,  with  vaulted  entrances  beneath,  and 
Greek  words  written  over  the  archway.  The  Renais- 
sance spirit  in  which  it  was  conceived  showed  itself 
even  in  the  neo-classicism  of  the  decorations,  reminis- 
cent of  Mantegna’s  allegories  or  the  paintings  of  the 
Ferrarese  school.  The  actors  of  the  mask  first  ap- 
peared on  the  scene  and  then  withdrew,  leaving  behind 
a youth  in  the  guise  of  Mercury,  who,  pretending  to  be 
Jupiter’s  envoy  to  the  king,  delivered  a learned  Latin 
oration  in  praise  of  his  Majesty.  When  he  had  de- 
parted, eight  boys  led  by  Cupid  and  Plutus  entered, 
clad  in  cloth  of  gold.  Afterwards  a like  number  of 
maidens  appeared,  supposed  to  be  goddesses,  also 
draped  in  gold  cloth,  and  with  richly  jewelled  garlands 


1 Brewer,  Henry  VIII,  II,  150. 


78  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


in  their  hair.  First  they  danced,  and  then  came  the 
turn  of  the  young  men,  each  of  whom  took  one  of  the 
nymphs  by  the  hand.1 

The  popularity  of  these  spectacles  was  very  great, 
and  they  continued  for  long  to  be  the  favorite  amuse- 
ment of  the  court ; Marlowe,  for  instance,  made 
Gaveston,  the  royal  favorite,  say : — 

I’ll  have  Italian  masques  by  night, 

Sweet  speeches,  comedies,  and  pleasing  shows. 

Italian  players,  both  men  and  women,  later  came 
over  to  England  to  play  in  masks,  performing  both 
at  Windsor  and  Reading  in  1574.  At  court,  more- 
over, the  masks  were  usually  presented  by  Italians, 
often  aided  by  English  players.  In  the  one  presented 
before  the  queen  and  the  French  ambassador,  the 
Lord  Chamberlain  gave  instructions  for  the  speeches 
written  in  English  to  be  translated  into  Italian.2 

The  later  development  of  masks  under  Jonson,  Cam- 
pion and  Heywood,  belongs  to  the  history  of  English 
poetry.  The  musicians,  however,  were  chiefly  Italians, 
and  Alfonso  Ferrabosco  composed  much  of  the  music 
for  the  later  court  masks.  Inigo  Jones,  moreover,  who 
designed  the  mechanism  and  stage  scenery,  brought 
back  the  new  mechanical  devices  from  Italy,  where 
he  learned  his  art.  Among  the  articles  most  in  use  for 
spectacles  and  state  occasions,  was  the  cloth  of  gold, 
which  was  imported  largely  from  Italy.  King  Henry 
the  Seventh  sent  at  various  times  to  Florence  to  pur- 

1 Brewer,  II,  152  et  seq. 

2 F.  G.  Fleay,  History  of  the  Stage,  pp.  22,  26. 


THE  COURTIER 


79 


chase  gold  cloth,  as  well  as  silks.1  Many  other  Italian 
articles  were  also  in  great  demand  in  England,  for 
the  Renaissance  brought  with  it  a perfect  passion  for 
novelty,  which  welcomed  the  introduction  of  foreign 
fashions.  This  was  especially  true  of  the  luxuries  Italy 
had  to  offer.  Its  embroidered  gloves,  sweet  bags,  per- 
fumed leather  jerkins,  and  costly  washes,  were  all  said 
to  have  been  introduced  into  England  by  the  Earl  of 
Oxford,  returning  home  from  his  travels.  Even  ear- 
lier, in  1559,  already  a parliamentary  consideration 
alluded  to  the  perfumed  gloves  of  the  Italians  with 
which  they  endeavored  to  curry  favor,2  while  Stowe 
mentioned  the  fact  that  women’s  masks,  busks,  muffs, 
fans,  periwigs  and  bodkins,  first  used  by  courtesans  in 
Italy,  were  all  imported  into  England.3 

In  the  matter  of  costume,  especially,  the  influence 
of  foreign  fashions  was  felt.  Italian,  French,  and 
Spanish  articles  of  dress  became  fashionable  at  differ- 
ent times.  The  poor  Englishman,  bewildered,  knew 
no  longer  which  way  to  turn.  Andrew  Borde,  a con- 
temporary physician,  drew  his  likeness  standing  naked, 
unable  to  decide  what  to  put  on  : — 

I am  an  Englishman  and  naked  I stand  here, 

Musing  in  my  mind  what  raiment  I shall  wear  ; 

For  now  I will  wear  this,  and  now  I will  wear  that ; 

Now  I will  wear  I cannot  tell  what.4 

1 Archives,  Florence,  Atti  Publici,  1502,  July  6. 

2 Historical  Manuscript  Commission,  Hatfield  House,  I,  163. 

8 Harrison’s  England,  II,  34. 

4 Early  English  Text  Society,  Extra  Ser.,  1870. 


80  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Among  the  foreign  fashions  introduced,  the  Italian 
long  dominated.  At  the  “ Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold  ” 
the  Mantuan  ambassador  spoke  of  King  Henry  and 
his  courtiers  “ dressed  in  long  gowns  in  the  Milanese 
fashion,  checkered  with  hoods  of  gold  tissue  and  gold 
brocade.”1  Later,  the  Venetian  ambassador,  Jacopo 
Soranzo,  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  costume  of 
Englishmen  was  largely  copied  from  the  Italian.  The 
long-breasted  doublets  and  the  so-called  Venetian 
breeches  were  popular  at  one  time.2  Italian  terms 
of  dress,  bragetto  and  capuccio ,3  were  then  in  ordinary 
English  use.  The  dandyism  of  the  Elizabethan  courtiers 
was  sharply  commented  on  and  satirized  by  many 
writers  of  that  age.4  It  was  even  said  that  men 
changed  daily  the  fashions  of  their  clothes,  no  longer 
thinking  a hundred  pounds  a great  sum  to  spend  on 
the  wearing  apparel  of  a gentleman.  How  different 
from  the  old  days,  when  an  English  squire  wore  the 
same  dress  for  “ twenty  years  ” ; the  days  when  there 
was  simplicity  in  the  land,  and  Englishmen  were  con- 
querors, and  not  “ scholars  ” trying  to  imitate  every 
new  trifle  in  costume  ! 5 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  Ill,  72. 

2 Fairholt,  Costume  in  England,  I,  213,  252. 

8 Faerie  Queene,  Bk.  Ill,  Canto  XII,  10. 

4 G.  Harvey,  Letter-Book,  p.  97  et  seq. ; G.  Puttenham,  Art 
of  English  Poesie,  p.  305;  R.  Greene,  Quips  for  an  Upstart 
Courtier,  etc. 

5 Institution  of  a Gentleman. 


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81 


IV 

If  a single  book  were  to  be  chosen,  typical  of  the 
Italian  influence  in  the  Renaissance  in  refining  Euro- 
pean manners,  it  would  in  all  likelihood  be  Della  Casa’s 
Galateo.  Castiglione’s  great  work,  though  admirable 
in  so  many  ways,  yet  narrowed  its  scope  By  appealing 
to  only  a limited  court  circle.  The  Galateo  was  in- 
tended, however,  for  more  general  use.  Like  the 
Courtier  it  had  also  been  translated  into  French  and 
Spanish,  before  appearing  in  England  in  1596.  In 
this  form  it  was  to  make  its  appeal  to  the  English 
people  at  large,  to  such  as  were  entirely  ignorant 
of  Italian  and  had  never  been  abroad.  The  effect  of 
the  book  was  to  assist  in  spreading  the  new  reform 
of  manners  first  brought  about  in  Italy.  This  task 
was  a far  more  necessary  one  than  may  seem  at 
first  glance.  Social  intercourse  had  been  rough  and 
uncouth  in  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Nowhere 
better  than  in  the  Galateo  can  this  be  appreciated 
after  noticing  the  things  condemned  by  writers  on  man- 
ners, like  Della  Casa.  Much  of  his  advice  may  appear 
ludicrous  at  the  present  day : he  bade  the  reader 
neither  yawn  in  company,  nor  grind  his  teeth,  nor 
sneeze  too  loud  ; not  to  eat  like  a glutton,  nor  wipe 
his  brow  with  his  napkin.  In  like  manner,  the  ordi- 
nary relations  of  life  and  rules  of  social  conduct  were 
prescribed  at  great  length.  But  in  addition  to  what 
to-day  seem  platitudes,  much  sound  and  good  advice 
was  given : anything  unpleasant  to  the  imagination 


82  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


ought  to  be  avoided,  “ for  we  must  not  only  refrain 
from  such  things  as  be  foul,  filthy,  loathsome,  and 
nasty,  but  we  must  not  so  much  as  name  them ; and 
it  is  not  only  a fault  to  do  such  things,  but  against 
good  manner  by  any  act  or  sign  to  put  a man  in  mind 
of  them.”  Similarly,  one  ought  not  to  “ wash  in  the 
presence  of  others,  since  that  suggests  filthy  matter.” 
Many  more  personal  details  of  this  nature  were  men- 
tioned, not  necessary  to  dwell  on  here.  It  was  from 
Italy  that  there  came  the  first  protest  against  the  un- 
couthness which  had  been  handed  down  almost  as  a 
tradition  of  social  life  from  the  Dark  Ages,  not  only  in 
England  but  in  France,  where  later  the  Florentine 
Marquise  de  Rambouillet  was  to  set  a personal  exam- 
ple of  Italian  refinement.  This  new  Italian  influence 
in  matters  of  social  intercourse  can  perhaps  best  be 
appreciated  by  examining  contemporary  books  on  con- 
versation and  letter-writing.  In  both,  Italian  models 
and  examples  were  frequently  employed.  Robert 
Hitchcock’s  Quintessence  of  Wit  was  indeed  little  else 
than  a collection  of  maxims  and  aphorisms,  collected 
for  English  readers  from  Italian  writers ; while  Ful- 
wood’s  well-known  Enemy  of  Idleness  gave  as  illustra- 
tions the  letters  of  Italian  humanists.  Politian,  Ficino, 
Lorenzo  de’  Medici,  and  Pico  della  Mirandola  were 
alike  quoted  for  the  benefit  of  such  Englishmen  as 
were  anxious  to  acquire  the  art  of  letter-writing.  Even 
the  lover,  languishing  for  his  mistress,  could  find  in 
this  book  the  proper  Petrarchan  type  of  love-letter  for 
him  to  send. 


THE  COURTIER 


83 


The  Italian  influence  in  conversation  was  largely 
felt  in  Platonism,  for  the  Platonic  ideas  of  the  Renais- 
sance came  from  Italy  to  England,  not  only  through 
Petrarch’s  poetry  but  by  a hundred  different  ways 
of  which  but  little  was  from  Plato  himself.  Those 
unable  to  read  Italian  could  find  it  expressed 
in  Castiglione’s  Courtier,  and  Romei’s  Courtier's 
Academy.  Lodowick  Bryskett,  the  friend  of  Sidney 
and  Spenser,  in  his  Discourse  of  Civil  Life  was 
translating  Giraldi  Cinthio’s  Platonic  doctrines.  In 
this  literary  expression  of  Platonism,  so  common 
during  the  Renaissance,  the  dialogue  form  was  espe- 
cially employed.  In  Italy,  Bembo’s  Asolani  had  given 
it  a stamp  which  impressed  itself  on  the  culture  of  the 
age,  even  more  perhaps  than  the  influence  of  the 
original  example.  Following  Bembo,  the  other  writers 
likewise  selected  for  their  scene  a garden,  or  some 
other  suitable  place,  for  the  knights  and  ladies  of  the 
court  to  meet.  Castiglione  wrote  of  Urbino,  Romei 
of  Ferrara.  The  usual  proceeding  was  for  a queen  to 
be  elected  from  among  the  ladies  present.  She  then 
assigned  to  the  different  members  of  the  company  a 
topic  of  discussion.  In  this  manner  the  important 
subjects  of  conversation  were  treated  in  turn,  and  the 
ideas  and  opinions  of  the  age,  on  love  and  honor, 
beauty  and  riches,  and  so  forth,  were  all  expressed. 
Love  especially  was  always  a favorite  subject,  and 
innumerable  treatises  were  written  about  it,  many  of 
which  were  familiar  to  English  readers.  Thus  Leon 
Battista  Alberti’s  Art  of  Love  was  translated  into  Eng- 


84  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

lish.  Castiglione  also  had  much  to  say  on  the  subject. 
He  treated  his  courtier  as  a lover  and  gave  him  prac- 
tical advice  as  such.  In  his  great  discourse  on  love, 
placed  in  Bembo’s  mouth,  he  expounded  the  noblest 
ideas  of  Renaissance  Platonism,  and  regarded  love, 
freed  from  all  ideas  of  sensuality,  as  the  desire  to 
enjoy  beauty,  which  was  most  perfect  when  severed 
from  every  earthly  tie.1  Similar  elevated  discourses 
were  held  in  the  less  well-known  Courtier's  Academy , 
translated  into  English  by  John  Kepers.  In  this  the 
Countess  of  Scandiano,  chosen  by  lot  to  be  the  leader, 
had  been  crowned  with  a garland  of  laurels.  She  com- 
manded “Signor  Francesco  Patritio,”  who  was  “very 
learned,  but  especially  in  Platonical  philosophy,”  to 
discuss  the  subject  of  beauty,  inquiring  into  its  true 
nature,  whether  it  had  actual  existence  or  was  merely 
a creation  of  the  imagination.  His  discourse  is  typical 
of  others  on  the  same  subject.  Heaven  only,  he  de- 
clared, could  be  termed  really  beautiful ; the  beauty  of 
the  human  body  came  from  contemplating  that  divine 
light  which  was  reflected  in  the  soul’s  beauty ; 2 it  was 
virtue  which  made  the  soul  approach  this  divine  beauty ; 
next  in  order  came  the  beauty  of  the  world-soul  known 
as  nature.  Colors  were  but  divine  ideas  infused  into  this 
soul ; the  pattern  of  form  imprinted  on  it  by  the  seal 
of  divinity,  giving  beauty  to  the  deformed,  was  propor- 
tion. The  soul  shone  in  contemplating  the  divine ; 
its  beauty  was  only  obscured  when  debased  by  sensual 

1 Castiglione,  p.  342  et  seq. 

2 Romei,  p.  1 1 et  seq. 


THE  COURTIER 


85 


delights.  God,  he  went  on  to  say,  was  the  “ creator 
and  giver  of  all  beauty  because  He  alone  was  absolute 
perfection,  perfect  wisdom  and  incomprehensible 
beauty.”  Angelic  understandings  could  contemplate 
His  beauty  face  to  face  ; the  human  intellect,  however, 
so  far  as  it  formed  part  of  the  material  body,  was 
blind  to  it.  Beauty  proceeded  from  form,  deformity 
from  matter,  since  matter  resisted  ideal  reason.  To 
sum  up  his  ideas  in  a sentence,  “The  beauty  of  this 
worldly  frame,  and  all  the  parts  thereof,  dependeth  on 
ideal  form  in  mind  divine  comprehended.” 

Just  as  human  beauty  was  the  image  of  divinity, 
so  beauty  was  also  the  mother  of  love.  Love  had 
been  defined  in  various  ways.  Thus,  Plato  had  called 
it,  in  the  Phcedrus,  a desire  to  unite  with  the  beautiful ; 
in  the  Banquet,  to  bring  forth  what  was  beautiful.  The 
first  definition,  although  true,  seemed  too  restrained ; 
the  second  was  only  suitable  to  one  kind  of  human 
affection  and  was  by  no  means  a general  definition.  To 
the  Italian  Platonist,  love  was  rather  a violent  commo- 
tion of  soul  and  mind  stirred  by  some  known  beauty. 
It  was  of  several  kinds ; one  was  divine  love,  defined 
by  Plato  as  a kind  of  sacred  fury;  another  consisted 
in  discoursing  and  conversing  with  the  beloved.  “ Kiss- 
ing unto  this  love  is  permitted  for  a reward,  in  that  a 
kiss  is  rather  a conjunction  of  soul  than  body.” 1 Divine 
love,  however,  was  said  to  be  a union  with  the  beautiful 
which  was  the  true  image  of  divinity,  raising  the  mind 
toward  beauty  and  inflaming  it  with  love  for  the  creator. 


1 Romei,  p.  40. 


86  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


In  all  matters  of  human  affection  Petrarch  was  re- 
garded as  “ the  Grand  Master  in  love.” 1 The  numer- 
ous questions  arising  from  his  writings,  the  use  of  the 
eyes  in  love,  the  conduct  of  the  lover  and  the  lady, 
the  great  problem  of  whether  man’s  love  for  woman 
or  woman’s  for  man  was  the  greater,  were  all  discussed; 
but  the  authority  of  Petrarch  was  regarded  as  final 
by  most  writers. 

These  manuals  of  polite  conversation  presented  to 
an  English  public  the  Italian  Neo-Platonism  of  the 
Renaissance.  They  possessed,  in  addition,  other  ele- 
ments of  interest.  “Conversation,”  it  was  said,  “is  the 
beginning  and  end  of  all  knowledge.”2  It  should  be 
treated  as  a fine  art,  worthy  to  be  practised  for  its  own 
sake ; George  Whetstone  for  this  reason  in  the  Hep- 
tameron  of  Civil  Discourses  repeated  some  of  the 
“ conversational  entertainments  ” he  had  listened  to 
in  Italy,  “ that  Englishmen  might  profit  by  the  example 
of  Italians.”  Similar  books,  many  of  which  were  trans- 
lated into  English,  signified  a more  important  result 
than  discussing  problems  of  thought.  The  mixed 
assemblages  meeting  on  a footing  of  equality  proved 
that  the  position  of  women  had  been  raised.  Woman 
no  longer  occupied  the  fictitious  position  she  had  held 
during  the  Middle  Ages,  when,  lifted  by  convention  to 
a false  height,  she  was  in  reality  too  often  degraded. 
During  the  Renaissance  woman  was  to  become  the 
equal  of  man.  Even  then  the  avowed  object  of  con- 
versation was  to  promote  friendly  intercourse  between 
1 Guazzo,  f.  2io.  2 Ibid.,  f.  14. 


THE  COURTIER 


87 


the  sexes.  Advice  was  given  how  best  to  conduct  it ; 
questions  too  deep  or  subtle  were  not  to  be  discussed, 
nor  things  spoken  of  out  of  place.  Men  were  warned 
to  refrain  from  rehearsing  “ friar’s  sermons  to  young 
gentlewomen  when  they  are  disposed  to  sport  them- 
selves ; ” 1 the  learned  were  likewise  to  beware  of 
all  affectation  and  of  patronizing  attitudes. 

The  woman  of  the  Renaissance  was  in  no  sense  of  the 
word  an  inferior  creature.  Although  in  former  times 
she  had  known  only  how  to  knit  and  sew,  yet  now,  “ I 
am  sure,  I have  seen  the  role  of  more  than  a thousand 
[women]  who  have  been  excellently  seen  in  divinity, 
in  philosophy,  in  physic,  in  music,  in  painting,  and  in 
all  sciences.” 2 Among  the  arguments  advanced  for  the 
education  of  women  it  was  urged,  that  they  would 
thus  be  able  to  keep  their  household  accounts,  and 
write  to  their  husbands  without  employing  a secre- 
tary. Some  maintained,  however,  that  a woman  able 
to  read  and  write  “ will  turn  jUrer  Boccaccio  only  and 
write  lascivious  letters.”3  Even  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury the  “ new  woman,”  with  her  love  of  manly  sports, 
was  by  no  means  unknown.  “ In  my  time  I have 
seen  woman  play  at  tennis,  practise  feats  of  arms, 
ride,  hunt,  and  do  (in  a manner)  all  the  exercises 
besides  that  a gentleman  can  do.”  4 But  condemna- 
tion greeted  her  if  she  went  too  far.  There  were 
many  opposed  to  her  practising  manly  exercises, 
wishing  her  to  preserve  womanly  grace  and  beauty.5 

1 Della  Casa,  p.  30.  2 Guazzo,  f.  158.  3 Ibid.,  f.  158  b. 

4 Castiglione,  p.  220.  6 Ibid. 


88  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Some  even  called  it  “ a monstrous  and  naughty 
thing  to  see  a young  girl  use  such  liberty  and 
boldness  in  her  gesture,  looks,  and  talk,  as  is  proper 
to  men.”  1 

A description  of  the  perfect  woman  has  come  down 
to  us  from  the  pen  of  more  than  one  writer  of  the 
Renaissance.  As  a conversationalist  she  should  have 
sweetness  of  voice,  gravity  of  expression,  and  purity 
of  meaning ; and  although  knowing  a subject  perfectly, 
should  only  speak  of  it  with  modesty.2  She  must  pos- 
sess, however,  numerous  other  accomplishments,  for 
even  in  the  sixteenth  century  men  were  hard  to  please. 
“ I will  that  this  woman  have  a sight  in  letters,  in 
music,  in  drawing  or  painting,  and  skilful  in  danc- 
ing and  in  devising  sports  and  pastimes,  accompany- 
ing with  that  . . . the  other  principles  also  that  have 
been  taught  the  courtier.  And  thus  in  conversation, 
in  laughing,  in  sporting,  in  jesting,  finally  in  every- 
thing, she  shall  be  had  in  great  price  . . . and  albeit 
staidness,  nobleness  of  courage,  temperance,  strength 
of  the  mind,  wisdom,  and  the  other  virtues  a man 
would  think  belonged  not  to  entertain,  yet  will  I have 
her  endowed  with  them  all.” 3 

V 

The  courtier  has  been  considered  hitherto  more  in 
the  spirit  of  the  modern  meaning  of  the  word  than  in 
its  Renaissance  significance.  Thus  far  his  sports  and 

1 Guazzo,  f.  158.  2 Ibid.,  f.  115  b.  3 Castiglione,  p.  221. 


THE  COURTIER 


89 


pastimes  and  the  lighter  side  of  his  life  have  alone 
been  noticed.  His  more  serious  aspect  remains  still 
to  be  regarded.  The  underlying  shadow  of  slur  which 
to-day  unconsciously  attaches  itself,  especially  in  a 
democratic  community,  to  the  idea  of  courtier,  is  of 
quite  recent  growth.  In  the  sixteenth  century  there 
was  no  more  honorable  career  open  to  a gentleman. 
Before  the  courtier  there  lay  the  paths  of  distinction 
and  glory ; it  was  his  task  to  fit  himself  to  merit  the 
success  which  lay  ready  before  him. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  clergy  had  almost 
exclusive  charge  of  the  intellectual  requirements  of  the 
nation,  skill  at  arms  had  alone  been  thought  necessary 
for  the  gentleman.  A great  secular  growth  accom- 
panied, however,  the  new  centralizing  tendency  of 
the  Renaissance.  The  court  became,  as  it  were,  the 
nucleus  of  the  rVlmon  ; from  its  centre  stretched  out  in 
each  direction  countless  threads  which  not  only  con- 
nected it  with  every  activity  in  the  land,  but  bound  it 
in  diplomatic  relations  with  other  countries.  To  fit 
the  courtier  for  this  development  in  the  national  life, 
a different  education  was  necessary,  which  the  new 
humanism  in  part  provided.  Its  general  nature, 
however,  reacted  on  men  in  different  ways ; some 
were  to  find  their  careers  in  diplomacy  and  statecraft, 
others  in  letters,  still  others  in  war,  since  that  too  had 
become  a science.  The  courtier,  properly  speaking, 
was  therefore  to  be  found  under  all  these  aspects,  as  a 
diplomat  and  adviser  to  his  prince,  a literary  man  and 
scholar,  and  lastly  as  a soldier. 


90  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

A striking  difference  can  be  found  in  comparing  the 
English  embassies  sent  to  Rome  in  the  sixteenth  century 
with  what  they  had  been  in  former  years.  During  the 
earlier  ages,  diplomatic  relations  with  the  Vatican 
had  been  transacted  almost  exclusively  by  churchmen. 
Adrian  de  Castello,  Ghinucci,  Giovanni  and  Silvestro 
Gigli,  were  among  the  better  known  Italian  prelates 
in  the  king’s  service,  most  of  them  holding  English 
benefices.  A change,  however,  was  gradually  effected, 
largely  owing  to  the  royal  divorce  and  its  consequences. 
Although  churchmen  were  employed  until  the  first 
quarter  of  the  new  century  was  over,  courtiers  were 
by  degrees  filling  their  places.  Men  like  the  Earls  of 
Bedford  and  Wiltshire,  Sir  Francis  Bryan,  Sir  Thomas 
Wyatt,  and  Sir  Philip  Hoby  were  beginning  to  conduct 
for  England  the  new  diplomacy  of  the  Renaissance. 
Italians  often  accompanied  them  on  their  missions ; 
Sir  Thomas  Spinelli,  Sir  Gregory  and  John  da  Casale, 
Peter  Vannes,  and  others,  were  all  in  the  English  ser- 
vice, but  they  were  for  the  most  part  laymen,  as  were 
also  the  numerous  Italian  agents  employed  by  Crom- 
well, and  later  by  Cecil. 

The  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  England  had 
naturally  for  its  effect  the  withdrawal  of  all  diplomatic 
charges  from  the  Roman  clergy,  while  at  the  same  time 
it  ended  in  breaking  off  direct  intercourse  with  Rome. 
Courtiers  were  therefore  more  and  more  intrusted  with 
the  conduct  of  diplomatic  affairs.  This  had  been  the 
case  for  some  time  already  in  Italy,  although  there  the 
true  reason  lay  rather  in  the  Papacy  being  considered 


THE  COURTIER 


91 


an  Italian  principality,  so  that  those  owing  it  allegiance 
could  not  well  be  in  the  service  of  other  states. 

In  advance  of  the  rest  of  Europe,  the  career  of  the 
courtier  as  a diplomat  had  long  been  foreseen  in  Italy. 
In  addition,  however,  his  main  function  was  thought  to 
be  as  the  adviser  of  his  prince,  informing  him  of  the 
truth  on  every  matter,  and  warning  him  when  about  to 
do  wrong.1  Just  as  music,  sports,  and  pastimes  were 
held  to  be  the  flower  of  courtliness,  so  its  fruit  was  in  th€ 
proper  advice  to  a prince,  and  in  guarding  him  from 
evil.2  It  was  the  courtier’s  place  to  see  to  it  that  his 
prince  should  not  be  deceived  by  liars  or  flatterers  ; to 
this  end  he  ought  to  advise  him,  and  spur  him  on  to 
win  further  greatness.  Regarding  his  personal  relations 
to  his  lord,  the  coupler  ought  neither  to  flatter  him, 
nor  repeat  scandal  nor  idle  talk ; never  to  be  forward 
and  pushing,  nor  ask  favors ; nor  do  such  service  as 
would  put  him  to  shame,  nor  even  obey  his  master  in 
“ dishonest  matters.”  If  his  prince  was  wicked,  he 
should  leave  his  service.3 

For  the  courtier  to  be  able  to  properly  advise  his 
prince,  he  ought  to  possess  “readiness  of  wit,  pleasant- 
ness of  wisdom,  and  knowledge  in  letters.” 4 This  last 
was  the  great  change  effected  by  the  Renaissance,  which 
made  the  courtier  wish  to  excel  in  branches  which 
he  had  formerly  despised.  In  Italy,  men  like  Casti- 
glione  and  Navagero,  who  were  courtiers,  diplomatists, 
and  poets  at  the  same  time,  had  set  a personal  ex- 

I 

1 Castiglione,  p.  297.  3 Ibid.,  pp.  130,  339. 

2 Ibid.,  p.  298.  4 Ibid.,  p.  297. 


92  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


ample.  The  former  not  only  bid  his  courtier  speak 
well,  having  great  care  in  the  selection  of  words,  but 
also  cultivating  and  polishing  his  own  language,  to  write 
“ both  rhyme  and  prose.” 1 In  addition,  he  should  be 
able  to  play  on  several  instruments,  and  know  also 
how  to  draw  and  paint.2  Most  of  all  he  ought  to 
cultivate  learning  ; a knowledge  of  history  would  teach 
him  many  things  of  value. 

In  studying  the  lives  of  great  men,  he  would  himself 
desire  greatness,  for  who  could  read  the  mighty  deeds  of 
Caesar  or  Alexander,  of  Scipio  and  Hannibal,  and  not 
desire  to  be  as  they  were,  preferring  the  everlasting 
fame,  which  is  attained  even  by  death,  to  ordinary  life  ; 
“ but  he  that  savoreth  not  the  sweetness  of  letters  can- 
not know  how  much  is  the  greatness  of  glory.”3  The 
courtier  should  also  be  learned  in  the  humanities,  read- 
ing the  poets  no  less  than  the  orators  and  historians. 

This  new  conception  of  learning  as  a necessary  part 
of  a gentleman’s  education  had  first  obtained  root  in 
Italy.  It  was  otherwise  in  France,  where  letters  were 
long  disparaged,  and  men  thought  it  “ a great  villany 
when  any  one  of  them  is  called  a clerk.” 4 Castiglione 
looked  forward  to  an  improvement  with  the  accession  of 
Francis  to  the  throne,  but  even  later  it  was  said  that 
“ learning  is  so  little  accounted  of  that  a gentleman 
though  he  be  scarce  able  to  maintain  himself,  thinketh 
scorn  to  apply  his  mind  to  the  study  either  of  the  laws 
or  of  physic.” 5 In  the  Middle  Ages,  skill  at  arms  was 

1 Castiglione,  pp.  69  et  seq.,  85.  2 Ibid.,  p.  89  et  seq. 

3 Ibid.,  p.  84.  4 Ibid.,  p.  82.  5 Guazzo,  f.  84. 


THE  COURTIER 


93 


indeed  the  only  necessary  part  of  the  gentleman’s  edu- 
cation, nor  did  this  old  ideal  disappear  altogether  in 
the  Renaissance.  The  courtier  might  still  be  a soldier, 
but  he  must  be  learned  as  well.  The  Italian  courtly 
ideas  can  be  seen  reflected  in  England  in  the  books  of 
William  Segar,  who  expressed  himself  forcibly  on  this 
subject.  “Very  rarely  doth  any  man  excel  in  arms 
that  is  utterly  ignorant  of  good  letters.  . . . This  only 
I say  that  the  endeavor  of  gentlemen  ought  to  be  either 
in  arms  or  learning,  or  in  them  both.  And  in  my  poor 
conceit,  hardly  deserveth  he  any  title  of  honor  that 
doth  not  take  pleasure  in  the  one  or  the  other.” 1 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  those  brought  up 
in  the  old  system  would  look  with  favor  on  the  impor- 
tance now  assigned  to  learning.  One  of  the  favorite 
questions  of  the  age,  around  which  stormed  a contro- 
versy, regarded  the  two  rival  professions  of  arms  and 
letters.  Since  books,  however,  were  mainly  written  by 
scholars,  the  arguments  ended  generally  in  their  favor, 
^^arning  was  said,  first  of  all,  to  increase  gentry.  Let- 
ters being  no  less  esteemed  than  martial  feats,  it  fol- 
lowed that  the  gentry  of  the  one  was  no  less  than  of 
the  other.2  But  learning  was  superior  to  arms,  since 
it  might  of  itself  achieve  immortality,  which  arms  could 
not  do  without  its  aid.  Hence  it  followed  that  “ the 
deeds  of  famous  captains  and  worthy  soldiers  died  with 
them,  if  they  have  not  some  to  set  them  forth  in  writ- 
ing ; ” unless  they  happened  to  join  to  their  prowess  in 

1 Flonor , Military  and  Civil,  p.  200  et  seq.  Cf.  Spenser, 
Faerie  Queene,  II,  iii,  40.  2 Guazzo,  f.  86  b. 


94  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


arms  a knowledge  of  polite  letters.1  A fierce  discussion 
raged  in  Italy  on  this  subject;  such  writers  as  Muzio 
who  concluded  in  favor  of  the  scholars  were  attacked 
by  others  who  held  the  profession  of  arms  to  be  the 
nobler  because  the  older,  and  also  because  in  many 
countries  letters  were  unknown.2  Saviolo,  who  gave 
an  English  echo  to  the  controversy,  yielded  prece- 
dence to  arms,  since  princes  obtained  their  titles  and 
dominions  merely  by  virtue  of  them,  and  only  after- 
wards were  able  to  foster  learning. 

The  courtier,  however,  in  addition  to  being  a scholar, 
should  also  be  a soldier.  As  such  his  very  conduct  in 
war  was  outlined  for  him.  In  battle,  for  instance,  he 
ought  to  separate  himself  from  the  crowd  and  undertake 
his  feats  alone,  or  with  as  few  around  him  as  possible. 
He  was  thought  a fool  if  he  exposed  himself  in  such 
undertakings  as  capturing  a flock  of  sheep,  or  even  to 
be  the  first  to  scale  the  walls  of  a battered  town.  His 
deeds  of  valor  he  ought  to  perform  in  the  presence  of 
superiors,  and  if  possible,  before  the  eyes  of  the  king, 
— for  while  it  was  wrong  to  seek  undeserved  praise,  it 
should  yet  be  looked  for  when  due.3 

There  was,  however,  a quite  different  side  to  the 
Italian  military  influence  in  England.  The  Italians  of 
the  Renaissance  have  not  commonly  been  regarded  as 
a martial  nation.  Their  achievements  in  other  direc- 
tions obscured  their  feats  in  arms ; on  the  one  hand, 

1 Guazzo,  f.  104. 

2 Cf.  Muzio,  II  Gentilhuomo,  and  Mora,  II  Cavaliere. 

3 Castiglione,  p.  113. 


THE  COURTIER 


95 


an  outlet  for  their  military  zeal  was  found  in  foreign 
service,  while  on  the  other,  the  comparative  unimpor- 
tance of  results  achieved  in  their  own  wars  has  made 
these  live  chiefly  in  the  memories  of  historians.  Yet 
in  the  sixteenth  century  there  was  scarcely  an  army 
in  all  Europe  which  had  not  in  it  Italian  officers  and 
soldiers.  Among  commanders  also,  the  Duke  of  Parma 
was  considered  the  greatest  general  of  the  age,  while 
theTrivulzi,  Caraccioli,  San  Severini,  and  other  famous 
captains  in  the  French  service  were  all  Italians.  Even 
in  England,  Italian  soldiers  of  fortune  could  be  found  ; 
Petruccio  Ubaldini  served  in  the  wars  of  Henry  the 
Eighth  and  Edward  the  Sixth;  in  1548  Captain  Tiberio, 
with  a force  of  Italians,  garrisoned  Haddington  for  Lord 
Grey  de  Wilton.1  Still  later,  a certain  Captain  Sassetti 
was  described  as  an  Italian  soldier  serving  in  Ireland,2 
while  Sir  Horatio  Pallavicino,  in  the  days  of  the  Armada, 
served  as  a volunteer  on  a ship  he  had  himself  equipped. 

^^The  especial  importance  of  Italy  in  the  warfare  of 
the  Renaissance  came  through  its  development  of 
military  science  and  military  engineering.  It  was  first 
in  Italy  that  war  was  looked  upon  as  an  art,  and  fur- 
thermore, as  a fitting  occasion  for  the  employment  of 
the  keenest  intellects.  Thus  the  first  suggestion  of  a 
change  in  tactics  can  be  found  in  Machiavelli’s  Art  of 
War,  while  with  Leonardo  da  Vinci  began  the  study 
of  modern  artillery.3  It  is  therefore  not  surprising 

1 M.  Hume,  Chronicle  of  Henry  VIII,  p.  200. 

2 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  II,  169. 

8 M.  J.  D.  Cockle,  Bibliography  of  Military  Books,  p.  xix  et  seq. 


96  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

that  Italian  engineers  should  be  found  in  England  at  a 
comparatively  early  date.  Jerome  of  Trevisi,  who  lost 
his  life  in  the  French  wars  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  fighting 
for  his  adopted  country,  was  an  engineer  as  well  as  a 
painter,  no  uncommon  thing  in  an  age  when  Michel- 
angelo designed  the  defences  of  Florence.  Marco 
Savorgnano,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  military 
engineers  of  his  time,  visited  the  English  court  in 
1531,  under  the  guidance  of  Marco  Rafael,  a con- 
verted Venetian  Jew,  who  was  then  high  in  favor  with 
the  king.  Still  another  engineer,  whose  name  ap- 
pears frequently  in  matters  of  fortifications,  was  Sir 
John  Portinari,  for  many  years  in  the  English  royal 
service. 

The  few  English  military  books  of  this  time  were 
likewise  largely  compilations  from  Italian  sources,1 
but  Italian  books  as  well  were  often  translated  into 
English.  One  of  the  first  of  these  was  Whitehorne’s 
rendering  of  Machiavelli’s  Art  of  War,  which  the  trans- 
lator dedicated  to  Elizabeth  as  “ the  first  fruits  of  a 
poor  soldier’s  study.”  This  book,  which  had  been 
translated  by  Whitehorne  for  soldiers  rather  than  for 
scholars,  was  intended  by  him,  as  he  said,  to  make  his 
countrymen  no  less  invincible  in  the  knowledge  of  war 
than  they  had  hitherto  been  in  its  practice. 

Books  such  as  Cataneo’s  Military  I'actics  and 
Count  Giacomo  Porcia’s  Precepts  of  War  were  also 
translated.  Certain  Italians  condemned  the  practice 
of  writing  on  fortifications,  for  the  reason  that  foreigners, 
1 Cockle,  p.  viii. 


THE  COURTIER 


97 


if  left  untaught,  would  be  obliged  to  employ  Italian 
engineers.1  Tartaglia,  however,  wrote  a great  work  on 
gunnery,  dedicated  by  him  to  Henry  the  Eighth,  which 
treated  both  of  practice  and  theory,  entering  deeply 
into  problems  of  trajectory  and  ballistics.  It  was  fol- 
lowed by  another  work  compiled  by  Cyprian  Lucar 
from  the  best  authorities  on  the  subject ; and  from  the 
bibliography  he  gave  of  these,  one  can  realize  the  ex- 
tent to  which  England  was  indebted  to  Italy  in  all 
matters  of  military  science. 

VI 

The  knowledge  of  Italian  possessed  by  Englishmen 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  means  at  the  disposal 
of  such  as  were  anxious  to  learn  the  language,  requires 
some  consideration. 

4|*t  the  court  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  that  monarch,  who 
was  fond  of  foreigners,  and  especially  of  Italians,2  set 
the  example  by  himself  understanding  their  tongue. 
Among  his  many  courtiers  who  knew  the  language 
were  Lord  Rochford,  Lord  Morley  the  translator  of 
Petrarch,  and  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  who,  though  he 
never  set  foot  in  Italy  (in  spite  of  the  pretty  story  told 
by  Nash  and  Drayton),  is  yet  said  to  have  affected 
its  dress,  and  employed  an  Italian  jester  in  his  house- 
hold. Others,  too,  such  as  the  Earl  of  Wiltshire  and  Sir 

1 Cockle,  p.  xvi. 

2 Cal.  State  Pap.,  Ven.,  IV,  287.  “ II  Re  medesimo  ha  mold 

Italiani  . . . al  suo  servitio,  di  ogni  professione.”  — Ubaldini, 
Add.  Mss.  Brit.  Mus.  10169,  f-  116  b. 

H 


98  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

Thomas  Wyatt,  had  travelled  in  Italy,  and  the  Earl  of 
Bedford  adopted  Che  sard  sard  for  the  motto  of  his 
house  after  the  battle  of  Pavia,  at  which  he  was  pres- 
ent. The  two  princesses,  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  like- 
wise both  knew  Italian.  A knowledge  of  the  language 
spread  rapidly  among  the  upper  classes,  and  increased 
still  further  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth ; to  address 
one’s  sovereign  with  a few  words  of  Italian  was  indeed 
regarded  as  a mark  of  distinction.1  Elizabeth  herself 
had  learned  the  language  as  a child,  and  Roger  Ascham 
declared  that  she  spoke  it  perfectly  at  sixteen.  Several 
of  her  Italian  letters  are  still  preserved,  one  to  Catha- 
rine Parr  written  in  1544,  and  another  more  than 
twenty  years  later  to  the  emperor.  The  testimony  of 
Italians  bears  further  witness  to  her  proficiency  in  the 
language;  Giovanni  Antonio  Ferrice,  in  a poem  he 
dedicated  to  her,  praised  her  knowledge  of  the  “ soft 
Tuscan.”2  Pietro  Bizari,  the  historian,  also  spoke 
favorably  of  her  skill  as  a linguist,  and  especially  of 
her  knowledge  of  Italian,  which  he  said  she  had 
learned  from  Battista  Castiglione,  a gentleman  of  the 
privy  chamber  who  was  high  in  her  favor.3  A knowl- 
edge of  Italian  whs  then  widespread  at  court,  and 
those  who  had  not  some  smattering  of  it  were  the  ex- 
ceptions. Florio  indeed  remarked  of  it  that  “ the  best 
speak  it  best,  and  her  majesty  none  better ; ” 4 for  she 
“delights  to  speak  to  Italians.”5  Further  illustra- 

1 L.  Humphrey,  op.  cit.  2 Ms.  Bodleian. 

3 Historia,  1569,  p.  206.  4 Second  Fruites,  preface. 

6 First  Fruites,  ff.  II  b,  and  18. 


THE  COURTIER 


99 


tions  of  the  popularity  of  Italian  might  be  given. 
Burleigh  and  Walsingham  both  made  use  of  it  fre- 
quently in  their  diplomatic  correspondence.  One  of  the 
Venetian  envoys  noted  the  fact  that  at  a dinner  given 
him  by  Cecil,  where  the  entire  Privy  Council  was  present, 
the  conversation  was  carried  on  chiefly  in  Italian,  “ almost 
all  of  them  speaking  our  Italian  tongue,  or  at  least  all 
understanding  it.”  1 Robert  Cecil  had  travelled  in 
Italy  and  was  proficient  in  the  language ; so  were 
the  Earl  of  Rutland  and  Countess  of  Bedford ; the 
Earl  of  Leicester  had  learned  it  in  his  youth,  and  even 
had  Italian  musicians  in  his  employ.2  Many  others 
had  Italians  in  their  personal  service ; thus  Virginio 
Orsini,  a Roman  baron,  begged  Lord  Essex  to  allow 
him  to  be  numbered  among  his  servants.3  Henry 
Wriothesley,  Earl  of  Southampton,  had  John  Florio 
in  his  pay  and  patronage,  and,  according  to  him, 
rapidly  acquired  a knowledge  of  Italian.  On  every 
side  could  be  seen  evidences  of  the  same  keen  desire 
to  learn  the  language.  Hubert  Languet,  in  a letter  to 
Sidney,  alluded  jestingly  to  the  craze  : “ It  seems  to  me 
quite  absurd  that  your  countrymen  should  make  such  a 
point  of  speaking  Italian  well.  . . . Perhaps  you  are 
afraid  you  will  not  persuade  them  to  take  your  money 
unless  you  speak  with  perfect  fluency.”4 

William  Thomas,  the  author  of  the  History  of  Italy, 

1 Cal.  State  Pap.  V in.,  VII,  524  et  seq. 

2 Cotton  Ms.  Titus,  B.  VII,  Brit.  Mus. 

8 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  VI,  534. 

4 Letter  of  Jan.  28,  1574. 


100  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

wrote  also  the  first  English  manual  of  Italian,  which 
appeared  in  1550.  This  was  in  the  form  of  a grammar 
followed  by  a dictionary,  the  former  containing  the 
usual  classifications,  the  latter  consisting  chiefly  of 
a compilation  taken  from  earlier  Italian  works.  The 
purpose  of  the  book  was  to  enable  the  reader  better  to 
understand  Italian  writers.  In  the  author’s  judgment, 
Italian  was  gradually  coming  to  be  considered  on  the 
same  plane  with  Latin  and  Greek.  If  in  Italy,  he  said, 
they  would  only  continue  for  another  ten  years  the 
same  kind  of  work  they  had  accomplished  in  the  past 
ten,  “ surely  their  tongue  will  be  as  plentiful  as  any 
of  the  other.”  In  support  of  these  arguments  he  men- 
tioned the  various  branches  of  science  and  history, 
eloquence  and  poetry,  examples  of  which  could  be 
found  in  Italian. 

Thomas’s  Grammar,  while  still  in  manuscript,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Sir  Walter  Mildmay,  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  by  whom  it  was  printed  for  such  as 
might  be  anxious  to  learn  the  language.  Similar  man- 
uals were  written,  some  of  which  were  never  published  ; 
as,  for  instance,  the  Regole  della  Lingua  Toscana } by 
Michelangelo  Florio,  a Florentine  refugee  and  teacher 
of  Italian,  whose  son  later  became  the  great  English 
apostle  of  Italian  culture.  New  methods  of  instruc- 
tion appeared  from  time  to  time  : such  as  Lentulo’s 
Grammar,  “ a very  necessary  book  (in  my  concept) 
for  all  such  as  are  studious  of  the  Italian  tongue.” 2 

1 Ms.  Cambridge  University  Library. 

2 Preface  by  Granthan. 


THE  COURTIER 


IOI 


This  was  translated  in  1575  by  Henry  Granthan  and 
dedicated  to  the  daughters  of  Lord  Berkeley,  who  had 
been  very  anxious  to  learn  the  language.  Even  more 
significant  testimony  to  the  far-reaching  knowledge  of 
Italian  can  be  found  in  a Latin  method,  translated  by 
David  Rowland,  in  1578,  from  an  Italian  book.  As  he 
remarked  in  the  preface,  “Once  every  one  knew  Latin, 
and  from  that  Italian  was  learned,  and  now  the  Italian 
is  as  widely  spread.” 

In  1575  a Frenchman  in  London,  called  Desainliens, 
better  known  however  as  Claudius  Hollyband, 
published  an  Italian  method,  which  was  subsequently 
reprinted  in  an  enlarged  form,  under  the  title  of  the 
Italian  Schoolmaster.  This  he  dedicated  to  Master 
John  Smith  (probably  the  same  Smith  who  later 
became  a friend  of  Giordano  Bruno)  in  gratitude  for 
his  having  selected  him  to  be  his  Italian  teacher,  from 
among  so  many  in  London.  The  book  contained  both 
a grammar  with  rules  of  conversation  and  a series  of 
dialogues,  referring  for  the  most  part  to  the  common- 
places of  life,  and  chiefly  of  use  to  the  English 
traveller  in  Italy.  Occasionally  the  conversation 
bordered  unconsciously  on  the  humorous.  Thus  an 
ardent  lover  was  made  to  say,  in  both  Italian  and 
English  : “ Ho,  fair  maiden,  will  you  take  me  for  your 
lawful  spouse  and  husband,  and  I will  love  and  serve 
you  faithfully?  Say  yea;  defer  not  so  long.”  In  the 
later  edition  of  this  book,  following  the  dialogues, 
speeches  and  phrases  were  printed,  “ taken  out  of  the 
best  Italian  authors.”  The  method  by  degrees  led  up 


102  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


to  the  main  feature  of  the  book,  the  Novelle  of  Arnalt 
and  Lucenda , which,  given  in  English  and  Italian,  was 
held  out  as  an  inducement  and  reward  to  study  the 
language.  Hollyband  wrote  also  the  Campo  di  Fior, 
or  else  the  Flowery  Field  of  Four  Languages,  con- 
taining sentences  and  conversations  in  the  form  of 
more  or  less  disconnected  dialogues  in  Latin,  French, 
Italian  and  English.  The  book,  however,  was  of  use 
only  for  beginners,  and  was  in  every  way  inferior  to 
Florio’s  series  of  dialogues. 

John  Florio,  the  son  of  an  Italian  Protestant  refugee, 
and  the  translator  of  Montaigne,  was  to  be  the  best 
known  by  far  of  the  Italian  teachers  in  England.  He 
was  probably  educated  first  on  the  Continent,  and 
afterwards  at  Oxford.  He  called  himself  “ an  English- 
man in  Italian,”1  and  certainly  appears  to  have 
combined  the  double  training.  From  his  first  youth  he 
lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  teaching.  Early  in  life,  before 
entering  the  Earl  of  Southampton’s  household,  he  had 
been  tutor  in  foreign  languages  to  Robert  Barnes,  the 
son  of  the  Bishop  of  Durham.  Later,  during  the 
reign  of  James  the  First,  he  became  Italian  reader  to 
the  queen.  His  celebrity,  however,  apart  from  his 
translation  of  Montaigne,  arose  chiefly  from  his  books 
which  helped  to  popularize  Italian  among  the  young 
gallants  of  the  court. 

Florio  made  use  of  his  books  of  instruction  to  give 
his  own  ideas  on  many  subjects  ; he  thus  combined  the 
teaching  of  a foreign  language  with  the  expression  of 


1 Second  Fruites,  preface. 


l /iir.h.w  s.-i/.f 


En  virtute  sue  amtcntiis,nobilis  ertc , 

Jtahis  ore ..  Inalus  peTtore  ,vter^  op  ere 
h leret  aJhuc.et  euthuc  tier  chit threat  ultra 
FLOKTVS.  hac  spear  fieri  Jus , op  tut  emails . 


fJm  trlix  vtinani 


J 


. • ■ ->>  b$.v  : H 

■ 

. 

■ ' : ' : - ~ ' ■ ‘S  ■ ^ J : - 


. 

• : ‘ 


r.  : ; ■ ■ ■ : : ■ :*■  - 


THE  COURTIER 


103 


personal  opinions.  The  use  of  dialogue,  the  Italian 
and  English  being  printed  in  parallel  columns,  aided 
him  in  this.  Furthermore,  he  was  able  to  say  what  he 
liked  without  fear  of  criticism.  An  instance  of  this 
freedom  of  speech  will  be  found  in  his  opinion  of  the 
English  people : “ a handicraftsman  will  be  a mer- 
chant, a merchant  will  be  a gentleman,  a gentleman 
will  be  a lord,  a lord  a duke,  a duke  a king ; so  that 
every  one  seeks  to  overcome  another  in  pride.” 1 
He  had  other  remarks  to  make  as  well ; the  nobility, 
for  instance,  he  found  very  courteous,  but  it  was  other- 
wise with  the  commons,  especially  toward  strangers.2 
His  advice  to  the  English  people  was  that  they  should 
teach  their  children  several  languages,  and  not  do  as 
so  many  who  studied  foreign  tongues,  and  “when 
they  have  learned  two  words  of  Spanish,  three  words 
of  French  and  four  words  of  Italian,  they  think  they 
have  enough,  they  will  study  no  more.” 3 On  another 
occasion,  an  Italian  in  England,  asked  to  give  his 
opinion  of  the  language,  replied  that  it  was  good 
enough  in  its  own  country,  but  worthless  beyond  Dover. 
“ What  a shame  it  is,  therefore,  that  an  Englishman,  in 
the  company  of  strangers,  should  be  unable  to  speak 
to  them,  and  should  thus  stand  dumb,  mocked  of  them 
and  despised  of  all.  . . . What  a reproach  to  his 
parents  ; what  a loss  to  him.” 4 

In  other  dialogues  the  student  could  find  expressed 
in  Italian  the  ordinary  conversations  of  the  day  ; thus, 


1 First  Fruiies,  f.  1 6 b. 

2 Ibid.,  f.  9 b. 


3 Ibid.,  f.  51  b. 

4 Ibid.,  f.  62  b. 


104  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


friends  talked  of  going  to  see  a comedy  at  the  Bull,  in 
spite  of  the  sermons  preached  against  theatres.  A 
practical  lesson  in  grammar  was  illustrated  by  a 
young  man  flirting  with  a girl,  who  went  through 
the  parts  of  the  verb  “ to  love  ” ; it  ended  by  her  accept- 
ing an  invitation  to  the  play ; or  again  a youth  bear- 
ing viola  and  lute  goes  to  serenade  his  lady ; court 
gossip,  the  amusements  of  the  day  and  even  the  price 
of  shirts  and  stockings,  were  all  introduced  into  these  ( 
dialogues. 

Florio’s  first  book,  which  had  appeared  in  1578, 
was  followed  by  the  Second  Fruites  in  1591.  In  this 
new  work  he  boasted  that,  having  “ ransacked  and 
rifled  all  the  gardens  of  fame  throughout  Italy  ” to 
adorn  English  orchards,  he  had  given  the  reader  “ a 
taste  of  the  best  Italian  fruits.” 

The  purpose  of  the  book  was  to  perfect  one’s  knowl- 
edge of  Italian,  especially  by  making  use  of  appropriate 
proverbs.  These,  it  was  said,  both  argued  “ a good 
conceit,”  and  would  prevent  Italians  from  talking 
bookish,  as  they  were  inclined  to  do  when  conversing 
with  strangers  whose  Italian  had  been  learned  out  of 
Guazzo  or  Castiglione.  The  Second  Fruites  were 
intended  likewise  for  the  young  gallants  of  the 
court,  who  had  literary  pretensions,  “ not  unfit  for  those 
that  embrace  the  language  of  the  Muses.” 

Florio’s  second  book,  like  its  predecessor,  was  in 
dialogue  form.  Some  of  the  names  of  the  speakers, 
Nolano  and  Torquato  for  instance,  were  probably 
selected  to  add  interest,  Giordano  Bruno,  who  had  been 


\ 


THE  COURTIER 


I°5 

in  England  but  shortly  before,  being  usually  known  by 
the  former  name,  while  he  also  had  made  use  of 
Torquato  as  a speaker  in  his  own  dialogues.  The 
conversations,  however,  were  for  the  most  part  ex- 
tremely commonplace,  though  answering  their  purpose 
in  introducing  an  extended  vocabulary.  Quips  and 
puns  were  of  common  occurrence  all  through  the  book. 
An  imaginary  journey  to  Italy  was  described,  and 
doggerel  rhymes  on  different  cities,  probably  trans- 
lated into  English  by  Florio  himself,  were  quoted. 
Thus  of  Rome  it  was  said  : — 

In  Roman  court  no  sheep  may  dwell : 

But  such  as  are  thrice  fleeced  well; 

Who  goes  to  Rome,  and  hath  good  store  of  pence. 

May  soon  return  a priest  or  bishop  thence.1 

Florio  had  announced  in  the  preface  to  the  Second 
Fruites  that  he  intended  shortly  to  publish  an  “ ex- 
quisite ” Italian  and  English  dictionary,  which  was 
intended  neither  for  scholars  exclusively,  nor  beginners, 
nor  even  for  advanced  students  who  had  run  through 
Guarini  and  Ariosto,  Tasso  and  Boccaccio.  It  was  to 
be  of  use  to  “ the  most  complete  ” doctor  even  though 
he  had  the  memory  of  Scaliger.  “Well  to  know  Italian 
is  a grace  of  all  grace  ” ; yet  without  knowing  the 
language  thoroughly,  it  was  impossible  to  read  Aretino 
or  Doni,  nor  even  understand  Castelvetro  or  Caro,  or 
any  of  the  different  Italian  dialects.  For  all  such 
purposes  a dictionary  was  absolutely  necessary.  He 
compared  his  work  to  what  Sir  Thomas  Elyot  and 

1 Second  Fruites,  p.  109. 


I 


IOS  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


tions  especially  were  frequently  referred  to.  Gabriel 
Harvey  alluded  to  their  great  popularity  at  Cambridge, 
where  every  one  had  read  them.1  In  recognition  of  the 
author  of  the  Courtier,  the  names  of  Castilio  and 
Balthazar  came  to  mean  in  the  English  language  the 
perfection  of  courtesy ; Marston,  Guilpin  and  Ben 
Jonson  all  employed  the  words  in  this  sense.  Thomas 
Lupton  called  the  book  a manual  of  true  gentleman- 
liness;2 and  Roger  Ascham,  the  puritanical  opponent 
of  Italian  influence,  said  in  his  recommendation  of  the 
work  : “ to  join  learning  with  comely  exercises,  Conte 
Baldessar  Castiglione  in  his  book  Cortegiano  doth 
trimly  teach  ; which  book  advisedly  read  and  dili- 
gently followed  but  one  year  at  home  in  England, 
would  do  a young  gentleman  more  good,  I wiss,  than 
three  years  travel  abroad  spent  in  Italy.”  3 So  late  as 
the  eighteenth  century,  it  was  regarded  by  Dr.  Johnson 
as  the  best  work  on  good  breeding  ever  written.4 

Courtesy  books  written  in  English  were  not  very 
numerous  in  Tudor  England.  Even  in  such  early  works 
as  Sir  Thomas  Elyot’s  Governour,  Laurence  Hum- 
phrey’s The  Nobles  and  the  Institution  of  a Gentle- 
man, the  influence  of  certain  Italian  writers  is  plainly 
evident,  though  not  always  acknowledged.  Boccaccio 
and  Patrizi,  from  whom  the  above  mentioned  writers 
borrowed,  were,  however,  of  a different  type  from  the 
true  writers  of  courtesy,  whose  influence  became  later 

1 Letter- Book,  p.  79.  2 T.  Lupton,  Civil  and  Uncivil  Life. 

3 Scholemaster,  p.  66. 

4 Boswell,  Life  of  Johnson,  ed.  G.  B.  Hill,  V,  314. 


/ 


THE  COURTIER 


IO9 


so  noticeable  in  England.  In  William  Segar,  for  in- 
stance, the  influence  and  example  of  these  Italian  cour- 
tesy writers  was  apparent.  In  the  Book  of  Honor  atid 
Arms,  he  decided  a question  of  etiquette,  by  quoting 
as  eminent  authority  the  Duke  of  Urbino  ; his  sub- 
sequent work  contained  numerous  allusions  to  Italian 
practices  of  chivalry  and  even  made  use  of  Italian  ex- 
pressions. His  argument  on  virtue  as  essential  to 
nobility  followed  closely  the  example  of  Italian  writers  ; 
although  himself  garter  king-of-arms,  he  further  imi- 
tated them  by  maintaining  that  the  pursuit  of  learning 
was  in  no  way  inferior  to  a military  career  ; no  state, 
indeed,  could  be  well  governed  “ unless  the  governors 
thereof  had  studied  philosophy.”  1 

George  Pettie,  in  the  preface  to  his  translation  of 
Guazzo’s  Conversations,  was  even  more  emphatic  on 
the  same  subject.  A soldier  himself,  he  said  that  he 
ought  not  to  be  condemned  for  spending  his  time  in 
writing,  since  learning  was  necessary  to  the  military 
man.  “Those  which  mislike  study  or  learning  in  a 
gentleman  are  some  fresh  water  soldiers,  who  think 
that  in  war  it  is  the  body  which  only  must  bear  the 
brunt  of  all,  not  knowing  that  the  body  is  ruled  by  the 
mind,  and  that  in  all  doubtful  and  dangerous  matters 
it  is  the  mind  only  which  is  the  man.  . . . Therefore 
(gentlemen)  never  deny  yourselves  to  be  scholars, 
never  be  ashamed  to  show  your  learning  ...  it  is 
only  it  which  maketh  you  gentlemen,  and  seeing 
that  the  only  way  to  win  immortality  is  either  to 

1 Honor,  Military  and  Civil,  p.  200  et  seq. 


IIO  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

do  things  worth  the  writing,  or  write  things  worth 
the  reading.” 

If  one  idea  could  be  picked  out  as  the  dominant 
thought  in  Italian  courtesy  books,  it  was  that  the  out- 
ward graces  of  man  should  all  be  cultivated  by  educa- 
tion. Such  education,  however,  was  to  be  something 
more  than  a narrow  book  learning,  and  to  rest  on  a 
broad  basis  of  life.  The  courtier  should  be  learned, 
said  Pettie,  in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  properly 
advise  his  prince  in  the  government  of  the  state.1  It 
was  for  this  reason  also  that  Castiglione  wished  his 
courtier  to  be  accomplished  in  so  many  things.  The 
courtier,  however,  was  to  be  a soldier  as  well,  and  thus 
the  new  education  was  grafted  on  to  the  military  ideal. 
Many  Englishmen  were  to  exemplify  it ; Sidney  and 
Raleigh  were  both  scholars  and  soldiers ; so  too  were 
Gascoigne,  Turbervile,  Pettie,  Whitehorne,  Bedingfield 
and  Hitchcock,  to  mention  only  some  of  the  names 
of  English  poets  and  translators,  who  were  to  prove 
that  the  Italian  idea  of  the  soldier  as  a man  of  cultiva- 
tion had  likewise  taken  root  in  England. 

In  the  Renaissance,  when  the  encouragement  of 
learned  men  was  almost  a matter  of  state  policy,  the 
numerous  small  Italian  courts  formed  centres  of 
patronage  for  the  needy  scholar  and  poet.  In  Eng- 
land, on  the  other  hand,  where  similar  centres  did  not 
exist,  and  the  royal  court  did  not  entirely  fill  their 
place,  this  patronage  was  effected  rather  by  the  nobility, 
who  in  the  sixteenth  century  began  to  regard  them- 


1 Guazzo,  preface. 


' ' - - n 

' 

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. 


THE  COURTIER 


1 1 1 


selves  as  the  protectors  of  learning  and  the  arts.  Their 
travels  abroad  had  both  familiarized  them  with  the 
Italian  example,  and  at  the  same  time  destroyed 
their  prejudices  against  foreigners  which  existed  among 
other  classes  in  England.  Without  mentioning  the 
numerous  literary  men  in  the  time  of  Shakespeare  who 
lived  under  the  friendly  protection  of  great  noblemen, 
among  Italians  in  England,  Pietro  Bizari  dedicated  his 
History  to  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  Saviolo  his  Practise  to 
the  Earl  of  Essex,  “ whose  encouragement  of  letters 
has  won  for  him  the  title  of  the  Students'  Mcecenas." 
Among  Florio’s  patrons  likewise  were  the  Earls  of 
Rutland  and  Southampton,  and  Lucy,  Countess  of 
Bedford,  while  he  in  his  praise  of  Leicester,  his  first  pro- 
tector, called  him  thrice  fortunate  in  having  had  such  a 
herald  of  his  virtues  as  Edmund  Spenser.  “ Courteous 
Lord,  Courteous  Spenser,  I know  not  which  hath  pur- 
chased more  fame,  either  he  in  deserving  well  of  so 
famous  a scholar,  or  so  famous  a scholar  in  being  so 
thankful  without  hope  of  requital  to  so  famous  a 
lord.”  1 

In  other  ways  as  well  Italian  examples  were  followed 
in  England.  The  English  courtier,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  like  his  Italian  brother,  desired  to  shine 
in  the  cultivation  of  letters.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
glance  at  the  names  of  those  who  then  wrote  verse  and 
were  in  fact  known  as  “ courtly  makers.”  The  Earl  of 
Surrey,  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt,  Lord  Rochford,  Lord  Mor- 
ley,  Lord  Oxford,  Sir  Thomas  Sackville,  Sir  Philip 


1 Second  Fruiies,  preface. 


1 12  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Sidney  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  were  only  some  of  the 
better  known  courtier  poets.  What  deserves  espe- 
cially to  be  noticed  is  not  so  much  the  poetical 
faculty,  possessed  by  a few  imitators  for  the  most  part 
of  Italian  models,  as  the  vast  spread  of  education 
among  the  classes  who  previously  had  despised  it. 
A literary  taste  had  been  awakened  in  them  by  the 
study  of  foreign  models,  and  they  now  endeavored 
to  accomplish  in  England  what  had  already  been  done 
in  Italy. 

The  rapid  spread  of  education  in  the  Renaissance, 
no  less  than  its  transformation,  deserves  to  rank  among 
the  most  marked  features  of  the  age.  Especially  in 
Italy,  a universality  of  knowledge  had  characterized  the 
greater  minds  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Later,  in 
England,  this  same  broad  ideal  of  cultivation  can  also 
be  found  in  such  men  as  Crichton  and  Raleigh.  The 
new  humanism  in  all  its  breadth,  no  longer  confined 
to  any  narrow  group  of  scholars,  left  its  mark  in  the 
education  of  Italian  women.  In  England,  as  well, 
women,  no  longer  satisfied  to  remain  in  their  former 
sphere  and  anxious  to  follow  the  example  of  their 
Italian  sisters,  desired  to  shine  in  the  pursuit  of  letters. 
Lady  Jane  Grey  still  passes  for  a wonder  of  erudition, 
and  Queen  Elizabeth  is  said  to  have  known  eight 
languages.  Women  like  the  Countesses  of  Bedford 
and  Pembroke  were  the  friends  and  patrons  of  literary 
men.  In  many  ways  the  great  change  which  had  come 
over  womanhood  in  the  Renaissance  was  apparent.  To 
give  a single  illustration.  In  1550,  Anne  Cooke,  who 


THE  COURTIER 


1 13 

later  became  the  mother  of  Francis  Bacon,  translated 
into  English  some  of  the  sermons  of  the  famous  Sien- 
ese preacher,  Bernardino  Ochino,  then  a refugee  in 
England.  Her  mother,  it  appeared,  had  often  re- 
proved her  for  her  pursuit  of  Italian,  considering  it  a 
godless  study,  and,  therefore,  a waste  of  time.  This 
book  was  intended  to  prove  the  contrary,  in  revealing 
the  spiritual  side  of  the  Italian  nature.  It  showed, 
however,  another  side  as  well,  — a touch  of  conscious 
pride  in  the  idea  that  it  was  by  a woman’s  work  that 
the  book  had  been  translated.  Although  it  were  more 
fitting,  she  wrote,  for  “ doctors  of  divinity  ” to  meddle 
with  such  matters  than  young  girls,  yet  now,  “ through 
the  honest  travail  of  a well-occupied  gentlewoman  and 
virtuous  maiden,  they  speak  in  English.  ...  If 
ought  be  erred  in  the  translation,  remember  ’tis  a 
woman’s,  yea,  a gentlewoman’s,  who  commonly  are 
wonted  to  live  idly,  a maiden  who  never  gadded  farther 
than  her  father’s  house  to  learn  the  language.” 

In  the  age  of  Elizabeth  men  and  women  alike  were 
to  receive  the  benefit  of  Italian  humanism  as  it  spread 
through  Europe.  The  olden  days,  when  the  upper 
classes  could  afford  to  live  in  ignorance,  had  given  way 
to  a new  age,  when  learning  was  taught  from  child- 
hood. Even  in  the  sixteenth  century,  merit  meant 
more  and  birth  less  than  is  commonly  supposed.  Car- 
dinal Wolsey,  Thomas  Cromwell  Earl  of  Essex,  and 
Lord  Burleigh  were  all  of  ordinary  extraction.  Edu- 
cation, however,  often  took  the  place  of  genius,  in 
raising  those  of  low  descent  to  the  highest  places  in 


1 


1 14  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


the  land.  At  one  time  even  the  king  complained 
that  positions  of  great  responsibility  had  to  be  in- 
trusted to  those  of  low  origin,  who  alone  were  fitted 
for  them,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  education  on  the 
part  of  the  nobles.  It  was  to  remedy  this  and  pre- 
serve their  former  ascendency  that  noblemen  sought 
its  benefits  ; while  to  the  commoner,  who  obtained  an 
education,  it  went  far  to  remove  differences  of  rank,  to 
level  class  distinctions,  and  place  him  on  an  equality 
with  those  who  were  his  superiors  by  position.  In 
England,  as  in  Italy,  it  came  to  be  acknowledged  that 
scholarship  was  a noble  profession,  and  that  by  virtue 
of  it  scholars  were  gentlemen.1  Every  one  was  now 
interested  in  learning.  There  was  a time,  wrote 
Richard  Willes,  when  logic  and  astrology  so  wearied 
the  minds  of  scholars  that  true  philosophy  was  almost 
forgotten,  eloquence  defaced,  the  languages  exiled ; that 
time  was  past.  Not  long  since,  happy  was  he  who  had 
any  skill  in  Greek ; while  if  he  could  make  a Greek 
verse,  he  was  thought  a great  scholar.  “ Nowadays 
who  studieth  not  rather  the  Hebrew  language?  ” 2 All 
ranks  and  classes  bore  witness  to  this  new  zeal  for 
education,  which  had  swept  over  the  English  nation 
and  placed  side  by  side  with  the  old  feudal  distinctions 
a new  field  of  honor  in  learning. 

1 Segar,  Honor  and  Arms,  p.  36. 

2 Anglerius,  History  of  Travel,  1577,  preface. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  TRAVELLER 
I 

The  first  recorded  description  of  Italy  by  an  English- 
man is  in  Sir  Richard  Guylforde’s  diary  of  1506.1  This 
was  written  entirely  in  the  spirit  of  the  Middle  Ages 
and  failed  to  take  into  account  the  new  Renaissance 
civilization.  Its  author  passed  through  Verona  and 
Mantua  on  his  way  to  Palestine,  scarcely  making 
a comment  on  what  he  saw.  In  Venice  he  was  most 
impressed  by  the  munitions  of  war  stored  in  the  arsenal. 
He  went  on  excursions  to  Moryan  [Murano]  where  he 
remarked  that  glass  was  made,  and  saw  “ many  houses 
of  religion  that  stand  in  the  sea.”  He  was  present, 
moreover,  at  the  Doge’s  marriage  to  the  Adriatic, 
which  he  described  very  briefly.  “ And  so  they  rowed 
in  to  the  sea  with  the  assistance  of  their  Patriarch,  and 
there  spoused  the  sea  with  a ring.  . . . The  I)uke  let 
fall  the  ring  into  the  sea,  the  process  and  the  ceremo- 
nies whereof  were  too  long  to  write.”  He  expressed 
some  surprise,  it  is  true,  at  the  beauty  of  Venetian 
buildings,  but  failed  altogether  to  observe  any  differ- 
ence between  the  life  of  Italy  and  that  of  England, 
still  half  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

1 Camden  Society , 1851. 

“5 


1 16  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


A very  similar  account  was  written  some  ten  years 
after  by  Sir  Richard  Torkington,1  who  also  passed 
through  Italy  on  his  way  to  the  Holy  Land.  He  saw 
Milan  and  Padua,  and  later  Naples  and  Rome,  but 
almost  the  only  thing  which  impressed  him  was  a 
banquet  in  Venice,  where  there  was  music  and  danc- 
ing, and  the  guests  had  basins  and  ewers  in  which  to 
wash.  The  charm  of  Italy  was  thus  felt  neither  by 
Torkington  nor  Guylforde.  It  was  to  be  otherwise 
with  the  travellers  of  the  next  generation,  when  the 
new  ideas  brought  in  by  the  Renaissance  had  had 
time  to  develop. 

There  were  several  reasons  why  Englishmen  should 
wish  to  visit  Italy.  In  former  years  the  numerous 
churchmen  and  diplomats,  pilgrims  and  soldiers  of 
fortune,  who  passed  to  and  fro  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, brought  back  with  them  admiring  recollections 
of  their  travels.  The  scholars  also,  on  their  return, 
could  give  glowing  accounts  of  Italian  universities, 
then  far  in  advance  of  their  own.  Moreover,  the 
growth  of  the  Renaissance  in  England  developed  the 
new  taste  for  travel.  With  it  there  went  a keen 
desire  to  see  the  country,  which  was  celebrated  no 
less  for  containing  the  treasures  of  former  ages  than 
for  the  splendor  of  its  actual  life.  A knowledge  of 
Italy  having  once  spread  from  university  to  court  the 
desire  to  share  its  culture  drew  across  the  Alps  the 
cultivated  classes  of  all  Europe.  Pious  Catholics  still 
went  there,  and  eager  .students,  attracted  by  its 
' 1 Oldest  Diary  of  English  Travel. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


ii  7 

institutions  of  learning.  The  new  type  of  traveller, 
however,  who  was  neither  diplomat,  scholar  nor 
pilgrim,  now  found  his  way  in  increasing  numbers 
to  Italy. 

Sir  Thomas  Hoby  and  William  Thomas,  two  English- 
men who  were  in  Italy  shortly  before  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  were  both  typical  of  this  move- 
ment, and  can  be  singled  out  from  among  so  many 
by  the  records  of  their  travels,  written  entirely  from 
this  new  point  of  view.  Italy  itself  was  their  goal,  its 
sights  the  object  of  their  visit.  They  were  travellers 
for  a purpose,  who  looked  forward  to  the  education 
and  experience  they  should  acquire  which  might  be 
of  service  to  them  in  their  future  careers.  Unlike 
their  English  predecessors,  they  took  interest  in 
everything  they  saw,  noting  carefully  the  sights  and 
customs  of  the  strange  country.  William  Thomas’ 
observations  are  hardly  in  any  way  inferior  to  those  of 
the  Italian  travellers  of  the  age,  from  whose  accounts  he 
had  profited.  His  keenness  of  penetration  and  ready 
sympathy  with  a foreign  culture  fitted  him  peculiarly  for 
the  work  he  undertook.  The  avowed  purpose  of  his 
History  of  Italy,  written  after  five  years  of  residence 
there,  and  first  published  in  1549,  was  by  a selection 
of  examples  from  Italian  history  to  enable  Englishmen 
to  see  how  a nation  had  been  enriched  through  peace 
and  concord  and  made  poor  by  strife.  The  histori- 
cal portion  of  the  work  was,  however,  the  least  impor- 
tant. Its  real  interest  and  merit  lay  in  the  fact  of  its 
being  a guide  to  Italy,  full  of  antiquarian  and  political 


1 1 8 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

information,  and  containing,  moreover,  the  impressions 
and  experiences  of  one  of  the  most  cultivated  men  of 
the  age.  It  was  unquestionably  the  best  English 
account  of  any  foreign  nation  written  before  the  seven- 
teenth century  ; and  its  popularity,  to  judge  only  from 
the  editions  it  passed  through,  points  it  out  as  an  im- 
portant channel  by  which  a knowledge  of  Italy  filtered 
into  England. 

Sir  Thomas  Hoby  had  gone  to  Italy  after  having 
been  at  Cambridge,  in  order  both  to  complete  his 
education  and  prepare  himself  for  public  life,  since 
“ the  Italian  nation  which  seemeth  to  flourish  in  civility 
most  of  all  others  at  this  date  ” 1 then  offered  the  great- 
est opportunities  to  the  student  of  politics  as  well 
as  of  culture.  Hoby  kept  a record  of  his  foreign 
travels  in  a diary,  intended,  however,  only  for  private 
use,  and  which  has  never  been  published.2  In  shrewd- 
ness of  observation  it  certainly  does  not  begin  to  com- 
pare with  Thomas’  work.  It  is  of  considerable  interest, 
nevertheless,  in  presenting  without  literary  artifice  the 
Italian  experiences  of  an  English  gentleman  of  culture, 
in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Hoby’s  pur- 
pose in  travelling  was  to  see  what  he  could  of  Italy. 
With  this  in  mind,  he  described  the  different  Italian 
cities  one  after  the  other,  with  more  repetition  than 
variety.  The  ruins  and  antiquities  of  the  ancient 
world  chiefly  attracted  his  curiosity ; unlike  Thomas, 
he  never  moralized  on  such  sights,  and  rarely  con- 

1 Thomas,  History  of  Italy , preface. 

4 British  Museum,  Egerton  Mss.,  2148. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


119 

cerned  himself  with  objects  of  merely  historic  in- 
terest. One  would  almost  judge  from  his  impressions 
that  he  was  satisfied  rather  with  outward  appearances 
than  the  inner  character  of  things.  Some  of  the  chief 
elements  of  interest  in  Hoby’s  diary  can  be  found  in 
his  own  personal  experiences,  which  afford  glimpses 
of  Italian  life  in  the  Renaissance.  The  celebrated 
Hurtado  de  Mendoza,  the  Spanish  governor  of  Siena, 
showed  him  great  courtesy  while  there,  as  did,  on 
another  occasion,  the  young  Marquis  of  Capistrano  at 
Amalfi.  The  important  influence  Italy  had  on  Hoby 
was  thus  the  impression  he  derived  from  its  courtly 
life,  which  led  him  later  to  undertake  his  famous  trans- 
lation of  the  Courtier.  With  William  Thomas,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  influence  had  been  mainly  political; 
he  typified  in  some  degree  the  serious  traveller,  while 
in  Hoby  there  was  something  of  the  dilettante,  who 
travelled  because  to  do  so  was  the  fashion. 

The  tide  of  foreign  travel  in  Italy  began  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  the  Eighth.  Hoby  remarked  the  numbers 
of  Englishmen  he  met  in  every  Italian  city,  while 
Thomas  wrote  that  in  no  region  of  the  world  were 
“half  so  many  strangers  as  in  Italy,  specially  of 
gentlemen,  whose  resort  thither  is  principally  under 
pretence  of  study.” 1 At  this  time,  however,  the 
English  travellers  came  almost  exclusively  from  the 
gentry  and  the  court  circle.  A common  impress  of 
class  appears  to  animate  them ; all  alike  seem  to 
have  passed  through  one  mould.  Even  Thomas,  who 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  2. 


120  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

was  above  most  prejudices,  contrasted  the  Italian  uni- 
versities, whose  students  were  nearly  all  gentlemen, 
with  the  English  colleges,  with  their  “ mean  men’s 
children  set  to  school  in  hope  to  live  upon  hired  learn- 
ing.”1 

The  desire  to  travel,  however,  had  not  as  yet  pene- 
trated very  deeply  in  England,  beyond  the  narrow 
circle  who  then  alone  were  conscious  of  the  attraction 
of  Italy.  The  English  travellers  of  this  period  repre- 
sent, for  this  reason,  a unity  of  type  never  afterwards 
attained.  They  ought,  moreover,  to  be  judged  not 
as  travellers  alone  : often  the  traveller  and  the  cour- 
tier were  only  different  aspects  of  the  same  man, 
who  looked  upon  travel  as  a necessary  element 
in  the  perfection  of  the  courtly  type.  Travel  was 
thus  intended  solely  for  the  upper  classes,  who 
would  bring  back  with  them  on  their  return  the 
new  foreign  culture.  More  than  any  other  element, 
it  familiarized  England  with  the  achievements  of  the 
Renaissance. 

AVith  the  vast  diffusion  of  Italian  influence  in  the 
second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a gradual  evolu- 
tion took  place  in  the  whole  idea  of  travel.  Already, 
with  Thomas  and  Hoby,  the  type  of  traveller  had 
begun  to  differentiate,  and  these  differences  were 
later  to  widen  still  more.  One  type  was  that  of  the 
dilettante  pleasure-seeker,  who  travelled  because  it 
was  fashionable,  and  returned  to  England  with  all  the 
affectations  and  vices  of  the  foreign  country.  The 


1 Op.  cit.,  p.  3. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


1 2 1 


other  regarded  travel  almost  entirely  from  an  educa- 
tional point  of  view,  showing  in  his  character  an  in- 
clination toward  puritanism,  and  in  his  work  a tend- 
ency to  specialization.  There  were  many  gentlemen  in 
England  whom  all  the  “ siren  songs  of  Italy  ” could 
never  turn  aside,1  while  the  books  on  Italy  which  now 
appeared  in  England,  as  translations  or  otherwise, 
were  not  so  much  general  accounts  as  detailed  de- 
scriptions of  different  parts  of  the  country.  Such,  for 
instance,  were  Turler’s  Naples,  Lewkenor’s  Venice, 
Marlianus’  Rome,  and  Dallington’s  Tuscany .2  In 

reading  these  later  works,  one  is  able  to  realize  the 
extent  to  which  Italy  had  degenerated.  Venice  alone 
remained  comparatively  pure  amid  degradation  and  ser- 
vility elsewhere.  Dallington  especially  wrote  from  this 
new  point  of  view,  which  regarded  the  Italians  as  hav- 
ing little  more  to  teach  Englishmen.  Even  their 
learning  was  a thing  of  the  past,  and  in  their  universi- 
ties, “ ye  shall  scarcely  find  two  that  are  good  Gre- 
cians.” 3 

The  same  reasons  which  once  induced  men  to  cross 
the  Alps  no  longer  held  good.  Only  the  arts  con- 
tinued to  draw  the  foreign  student.  Architecture  and 
music  were  then  in  their  prime,  and  serious  minded 

1 Ascham,  Scholemaster,  p.  74  et  seq. 

2 The  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  complained  of  this  book  to 
King  James,  who  gave  orders  for  it  to  be  publicly  burned  in 
the  cemetery  of  St.  Paul’s,  and  for  its  author  to  be  imprisoifed 
at  the  Grand  Duke’s  pleasure  (Archivio  Mediceo,  Florence, 
4185). 

3 Dallington,  Tuscany,  p.  62. 


122  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


men  like  Inigo  Jones  and  John  Dowland  were  still 
able  to  learn  new  lessons  in  Italy.  It  was  quite 
different  with  the  ordinary  traveller.  The  purely  edu- 
cational value  of  travel  had,  by  degrees,  been  slighted, 
but  the  growing  appreciation  of  art,  no  less  than  the 
ruins  of  antiquity,  now  influenced  him.  His  point  of 
view  had  changed,  however.  In  place  of  the  unquali- 
fied admiration  of  former  years,  there  had  arisen,  espe- 
cially in  political  matters,  a conscious  superiority  in 
the  Englishman,  which  often  governed  his  judgment. 

The  dilettante,  on  the  other  hand,  regarded  travel 
in  a somewhat  different  light,  and  was  soon  to  bring 
ridicule  on  himself  in  his  affectation  of  foreign  fash- 
ions, which  he  carried  back  with  him  to  England. 
“A  great  number  of  us  never  thought  in  ourselves 
why  we  went  (on  travels)  but  a certain  tickling  hu- 
mour to  do  as  other  men  had  done.  ...  I think  ere 
it  be  long,  like  the  mountebanks  of  Italy,  we  travellers 
shall  be  made  sport  of  in  comedies,”  wrote  Sir  Philip 
Sidney  to  his  brother.  The  “ nice  travellers  who  re- 
turn home  with  such  queasy  stomachs,  that  nothing 
will  down  with  them  but  French,  Italian  or  Spanish,”1 
were  condemned  by  many.  Especially  censured  were 
those  “ who  having  gotten  a fond  affected  phrase  of 
speech,  or  some  conceited  togs  in  their  habit,  would 
be  accounted  great  travellers.”  2 The  dilettante  trav- 
eller abroad  became  the  “ Italianate  Englishman  ” at 
home,  who  was  responsible  for  bringing  the  idea  of 

1 Guazzo,  preface  by  G.  Pettie. 

2 Lewkenor,  Venice,  preface. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


123 


travel  into  disfavor,  and  largely  for  causing  the  reaction 
against  Italy.  He  is  of  interest  not  only  in  himself  as 
a type,  but  as  the  last  creation  in  the  evolution  of 
English  travel  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

II 

English  books  on  the  art  of  travel  were  a somewhat 
late  development  in  the  literature  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. In  this  as  in  many  other  things  practice  had 
preceded  theory.  After  it  had  finally  been  accepted 
that  travelling  was  necessary  as  the  finishing  touch  to 
an  education,  its  philosophical  justification  was  sought 
for,  and  advice  in  plenty  was  given  as  how  best  to 
profit  from  it.  The  whole  theory  of  travel  was  dis- 
cussed in  this  rational  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  certain 
definite  results  arrived  at. 

One  of  the  greatest  effects  of  the  Renaissance  had 
been  to  magnify  the  importance  of  the  central  power 
of  government  to  a degree  unknown  since  the  days  of 
the  Roman  Empire.  This  resulted  more  and  more 
in  making  the  welfare  of  the  state  a final  test  in  every- 
thing. The  important  question  at  issue  in  regard  to 
travel  was  with  respect  to  its  advantage  to  one’s  coun- 
try. Its  apologists  tried  naturally  to  prove  it  of  posi- 
tive benefit  to  the  state.  “ If  there  be  anything  in  the 
world  that  will  bring  a man  into  consideration  of  his 
own  state,  surely  it  is  travel.” 1 It  was  shown,  first 
of  all,  that  the  desire  to  travel  was  characteristic  of 
“ noble  and  virtuous  natures.”  The  baser  sort  might 
1 Turler,  Traveller,  p.  38. 


124  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


be  satisfied  to  remain  in  their  own  country;  nobler 
natures  were  only  contented  when  they  imitated  the 
heavens,  which  were  in  continual  motion.1  This  rather 
curious  idea  was  frequently  expressed  by  others  as  well.2 3 
Another  argument  was  based  on  the  antiquity  of  travel. 
It  was  said  that  Homer  had  tried  to  portray  in  Ulysses 
“ the  most  perfect  and  accomplished  gentleman  of 
Greece,”  that  he  praised  him  chiefly  because  he  had 
travelled  in  foreign  lands,  and  noted  their  customs.3< 
One  writer  even  mentioned  a long  list  of  names,  begin- 
ning with  Noah  and  Jupiter,  and  selected  impartially 
from  sacred  and  profane  history,  to  prove  that  the 
heroes  of  every  nation  in  all  times  had  been  travellers. 
“These  men  think  it  a great  stain,  and  dishonor  to 
the  liberty  which  nature  hath  given  them  (to  be  cos- 
mopolites, that  is,  citizens  of  the  whole  world),  and  yet 
to  be  restrained  within  the  narrow  precincts  of  a little 
country.”4 

The  distinguished  ancestry  and  noble  motives  of 
the  traveller  having  thus  been  demonstrated,  it  was 
no.  less  easy  to  prove  his  utility  to  the  state.  He  had 
to  make  up  his  mind  that  the  purpose  of  his  travels 
was  to  ripen  his  knowledge,  the  object  of  which  was 
the  service  of  his  country.5  In  travelling  abroad,  he 
ought  for  that  very  reason,  to  seek  only  profit,  and 

1 Direction  for  Travailers. 

2 Cf.  Dallington,  Method  for  Travel. 

3 Lewkenor,  Venice,  preface.  i Direction  for  Travailers. 

5 Dallington,  Method  for  Travel ; Sidney,  Letter  to  his 

Brother. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


125 


after  he  had  well  spent  his  time,  to  be  ready  at  his 
country’s  service,  whenever  the  occasion  demanded.1 
It  was  generally  recognized  that  travelling  without 
some  definite  purpose  in  view  was  useless.  On  the 
other  hand,  “ those  who  for  a good  cause  depart  their 
country,  are  as  men  of  a singular  and  divine  quality.” 2 
The  necessary  qualifications  of  the  traveller  were  laid 
down  without  difficulty.  Women  were  debarred  as 
bringing  suspicion  upon  themselves.3  Young  men  like- 
wise were  considered  too  frivolous.  The  proper  age 
was  said  to  be  between  forty  and  sixty.4 

The  general  theory  of  travel  was  thus  mapped  out 
for  the  prospective  traveller.  This  was  contained  at  first 
in  letters  of  advice,  but  it  later  became  systematized  in 
books,  till  with  Dallington  and  Palmer6  an  entire  anal- 
ysis was  presented  in  the  form  of  diagrams,  in  which 
all  possible  methods  and  objects  of  travel  were  sub- 
divided into  classes.  Travellers,  for  instance,  were  said 
to  be  both  regular  and  irregular,  and  the  first  were 
either  voluntary,  involuntary  or  non-voluntary.  To 
mention  only  the  last  class,  this  included  ambassadors, 
messengers  and  spies,  and  soldiers  in  time  of  war.  The 
many  subdivisions  are,  however,  far  too  numerous  to  de- 
scribe. The  writer  elaborated  at  length  each  separate 
heading,  working  out  his  plan  from  the  diagrams.  In 
similar  fashion  the  different  kinds  of  knowledge  the 

1 Direction  for  Travailers  ; Lewkenor,  op.  cit. 

2 F.  Meres,  Palladis  Tamia,  p.  237.  8 Turler,  op.  cit.,  p.  9. 

4 W.  Bourne,  Treasure  for  Travellers. 

6 Essay  on  Travel. 


126  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

traveller  should  possess  before  beginning  his  journey 
were  presented  in  tabular  form.  He  should  try  to 
perfect  himself  in  the  sciences,  in  virtues  “ moral  and 
divine,”  and  in  the  ornamental  qualities,  not  only 
languages,  but  skill  at  arms,  music,  dancing  and  por- 
traiture.1 

The  important  question  was  with  regard  to  what  the 
traveller  should  observe,  and  the  advantages  he  ought  to 
derive  from  his  travels.  The  first  was  easily  answered. 
The  traveller  ought  to  acquire  while  abroad  both  facts 
and  ideas.  Whoever  wished  to  hold  public  office  should 
study  the  characteristics  of  different  nations,  to  enable 
him  to  see  their  good  and  avoid  their  bad  sides ; 2 a 
knowledge  of  facts  which  included  a general  acquaint- 
ance with  the  country,  its  products  and  trade,  its  armed 
strength,  and  political  alliances  and  also  its  revenues 
and  taxes,  was  useful.  A knowledge  of  ideas  was 
far  more  difficult  to  obtain,  since  it  dealt  with  the 
religion,  laws  and  education  of  foreign  countries.3 
While  any  one  could  travel  abroad,  few  only  were 
capable  of  searching  the  deep  meanings  of  things, 
and  comparing  the  customs  and  governments  of  dif- 
ferent nations.4 

That  the  educational  value  of  travel  was  more  than 
mere  talk  and  idle  theory  can  be  seen  from  contempo- 
rary letters.  Francis  Davison,  for  instance,  carried  with 

1 Palmer,  op.  cit.,  p.  37  et  seq. 

2 Relation  of  Petruccio  Ubaldini,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  I. 

8 Sidney,  Letter  to  his  Brother ; cf.  Bacon,  Essay  on  Travel. 

4 Direction  for  Travailers. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


127 


him  on  his  continental  tour  over  sixty  “ relations  ” or 
descriptions  of  foreign  countries,  all  of  which  were  in 
Italian,  with  the  exception  of  one  in  Latin.1 2  Later,  in 
writing  to  his  father  the  Secretary,  to  whom  he  ex- 
plained that  his  time  had  been  occupied  in  reading  the 
history  and  policy  of  nations,  he  said  : “I  am  ashamed 
of  myself  that  I have  no  new  relation  or  discourse  ready 
of  some  of  these  parts  of  Italy.  . . . My  promised  re- 
lation of  Tuscany  your  last  letter  hath  so  dashed  as  I 
am  resolved  not  to  proceed  withal.  ...  In  the  mean- 
time I go  on  with  my  studies,  contenting  myself  with 
the  profit  and  use  I make,  without  displaying  it  to 
others.”  And  again  — “ Touching  giving  some  proof 
to  yourself  and  others,  whether  I have  made  the  same 
use  of  our  travel  in  Italy  that  it  pleased  you  to  think  I 
did  in  Germany,  [a  relation  of  Saxony],  I have  gath- 
ered and  observed  divers  particulars  both  in  Tuscany, 
and  some  other  places,  which  I forbear  to  reduce  into 
an  absolute  discourse  before  I hear  how  my  Lord  ac- 
cepted of  my  other.” 

The  chief  advantage  to  be  derived  from  travel  was  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  the  fact  that  the  infor- 
mation obtained  would  fit  a man  to  be  of  service  to 
his  state,  and  give  good  advice  to  his  prince.3  This 
last  idea  was  especially  popular  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. It  can  be  found  in  Sidney  and  Lewkenor,  who 

1 Harleian  Ms.,  Brit.  Mus.,  298,  f.  154. 

2 Add.  Mss.,  Brit.  Mus.,  4121,  f.  265;  4122,11.111,139.  Also 
cited  in  Davison’s  Works,  edited  by  Harris  Nicolas,  1826. 

3 Bourne,  op.  cit. 


128  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


regarded  it  almost  as  the  final  justification  of  travel. 
It  was,  in  a way,  another  side  to  Castiglione’s  belief  that 
the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  courtier  was  to  advise  his 
prince. 

In  spite  of  the  many  advantages  offered  by  travel,  it 
was  useless  to  try  and  conceal  its  dangers.  “ Such  is 
our  nature,  especially  of  us  English,  that  as  we  admire 
and  entertain  strange  artificers  before  our  own,  so  we< 
wonder  at,  and  more  willingly  entreat  of  learning  with 
the  learned  foreigners,  than  with  our  own  native  coun- 
trymen.”1 In  another  direction,  this  exposed  the 
English  traveller  to  the  temptations  of  foreign  countries, 
and  especially  of  Italy,  “ for  Italy  moveth  most  of  our 
travellers  to  go  and  visit  it,  of  any  other  state  in  the 
world.”2  The  danger  of  religion  and  morals  should 
therefore  be  guarded  against,  the  last  especially,  since 
“our  [English]  nature  is  prone  to  imitate  outlandish 
vices.” 3 

The  extent  to  which  the  idea  of  travel,  and  its  edu- 
cational function,  had  been  developed,  may  be  judged 
from  the  numerous  books  on  the  subject.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  teach  experience  and  wisdom,  to  refine 
manners,  and  give  instruction  in  general  conduct.4 
It  was  likewise  intended  to  bring  the  traveller  in  con- 
tact with  foreign  scholars,  with  whom  he  was  urged 
to  maintain  a correspondence  after  he  had  left  their 
country.3 

1 Direction  for  Travailers.  4 Ibid. 

2 Palmer,  op.  cit.,  p.  42.  6 Bacon,  Essay  on  Travel. 

3 Direction  for  Travailers. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


129 


Regarding  the  part  played  by  Italy  in  such  books, 
it  should  be  said  that  invariably  reference  was  made  to 
it  as  being  the  foreign  country  of  greatest  interest  to 
Englishmen,  while  in  addition,  Italian  examples  were 
generally  made  use  of  as  illustrations.  Often,  too, 
methods  of  travel  preceded  the  guide-books.  Turler’s 
account  of  Naples  followed  his  manual,  while  Lew- 
kenor’s  advice  on  the  subject  was  in  the  preface  to  his 
translation  of  Contarini’s  Ve?iice. 

The  Elizabethan  Age  thus  developed  a theory  of 
travel.  It  found  in  it  an  educational  element  of  great 
value,  and  regarded  it  half  as  a science,  half  as  an  art. 
The  different  works  on  travel  gave  the  criteria  for  the 
judging  of  foreign  countries.  The  traveller  of  the  Re- 
naissance regarded  himself  as  no  teller  of  idle  tales  but 
as  a skilled  observer  engaged  almost  in  a solemn  duty 
toward  his  country.  In  this  high  sense  of  public  duty, 
and  in  its  ethical  and  educational  sides,  the  strength 
of  the  Renaissance  theory  of  travel  can  at  once  be  seen. 
At  the  same  time,  the  very  loftiness  of  the  ideal  aimed 
at  was  the  cause  of  its  one-sidedness.  The  traveller, 
in  theory,  was  animated  only  by  a stern  sense  of  duty, 
which  made  of  him  almost  a slave  for  the  benefit  of 
his  country.  There  was  no  place  in  this  conception 
for  the  pleasure-seeker,  nor  even  for  the  most  culti- 
vated of  dilettantes.  In  the  ideas  of  the  English 
Renaissance,  travel  was  never  regarded  as  a rational 
amusement. 


K 


130  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


III 

The  amount  and  variety  of  information  given  to  the 
traveller  about  to  set  out  on  his  journey  was  further 
evidence  of  the  great  popularity  of  travel  in  the  Eliza- 
bethan Age.  Instruction  and  advice  was  offered  him 
in  plenty.  He  was  told  where  he  ought  to  go,  how 
he  should  act,  and  what  he  was  especially  to  look  for 
in  Italy.  For  Italy  was  always  the  final  goal  in  the 
grand  tour.  To  Italy  “ all  nations  of  Christendom  do 
flock.” 1 Dallington  for  a similar  reason  advised  his 
traveller  to  leave  it  for  the  last,  since  “we  best  re- 
member the  last  impressions.”  The  other  countries 
traversed  on  the  journey  were  of  secondary  considera- 
tion, if  not  in  importance,  at  least  in  attraction.  To 
follow  the  English  traveller  on  his  Italian  journey,  to 
note  his  qualifications,  the  advice  given  him,  the  sights 
he  saw,  and  the  benefits  he  derived  from  his  travels 
ought,  therefore,  to  present  certain  elements  of  in- 
terest. 

He  went  abroad  as  a rule  fresh  from  the  university, 
where  he  had  received  a classical  education.  In  rare 
cases  did  he  possess  more  than  a smattering  of  the 
modern  languages. 

It  was  to  remedy  this  that  the  traveller’s  first  care  in 
Italy  was  usually  to  learn  the  language ; the  testimony 
of  all  points  to  this ; thus  Hoby  studied  Italian  at 
Padua,  and  afterwards  went  alone  on  a journey  through 

1 Sandys,  Speculum  Europe,  a Relation  of  the  State  of  Re- 
ligion, sig.,  M,  2 b. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


131 

southern  Italy  “ to  absent  myself  for  a while  out  of 
Englishmen’s  company  for  the  tongue’s  sake.”  Francis 
Davison  likewise  passed  much  of  his  time  in  “ writing, 
speaking  and  reading  Italian,” 1 and  Robert  Dalling- 
ton,  who  placed  the  learning  of  languages  among  the 
great  advantages  to  be  derived,  advised  the  traveller 
who  did  not  care  to  settle  in  Florence  to  try  either 
Prato  or  Siena,  where  the  speech  was  as  good  and  the 
expense  far  less.2  Of  all  methods  employed  in  study- 
ing the  language,  conversation  was  considered  the 
best ; the  traveller  was  bidden  to  converse  with  all 
classes  of  people.  With  his  master  he  ought  to  read 
preferably  some  modern  comedy,  and  he  should  also 
attend  lectures  on  the  grammar  of  the  language. 
“ Privately  he  may  for  his  pleasure  read  poetry,  espe- 
cially if  at  his  return  he  mean  to  court  it ; but  for 
his  profit,  if  he  be  a man  of  means  and  likely  here- 
after to  bear  charge  in  his  country,  or  if  a man  of 
endeavors  and  willing  to  prefer  himself  by  service,  I 
wish  him  to  history.” 3 

Rome  was  the  principal  place  to  be  avoided  on  the 
journey.  “ Let  them  beware  of  Rome,”  wrote  Thomas 
Palmer.4  Dallington  likewise  advised  against  going 
there  because  of  its  being  the  seminary  of  English 
fugitives.  He  also  warned  his  traveller  of  the  Jesuits  ; 
“ these  men  I would  have  my  traveller  never  hear  except 
in  the  pulpit,  for,  being  eloquent,  they  speak  excellent 
language.”  This  was  not  the  case  with  members  of 

1 Add.  Mss.,  Brit.  Mus.,  4122,  f.  43. 

2 Method  for  Travel.  8 Ibid.  4 Op.  cit.,  p.  44. 


132  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

other  orders,  who  were  often  of  use  in  improving  one’s 
knowledge  of  the  language,  and  frequently  proved  to 
be  pleasant  companions.  One  last  warning  was  to  be 
careful  not  to  carry  books  prohibited  by  the  Inquisi- 
tion, as  they  were  likely  to  cause  trouble  when  trunks 
were  examined,  which  was  done  in  every  city. 

The  traveller  was  advised  to  follow  the  custom  of  the 
country  as  far  as  possible  ; whoever  lived  after  his  own 
fashion,  it  was  said,  made  a laughing-stock  of  himself, 
and  never  improved  his  own  barbarous  manners.1 
“ Nowhere  more  than  in  Italy  do  the  three  golden 
rules  of  Frons  aperta,  Lingua  parca,  Mens  clausa,  hold 
good.  Be  friendly  to  all,  familiar  to  a few,  and  speak 
but  seldom.  In  countenance  be  as  courteous  as  you 
can  ...  in  talk  as  affable  as  you  shall  see  cause ; but 
keep  your  mind  secret  unto  yourself,  till  you  come  to 
those  whose  hearts  are  as  yours.” 2 

Last  of  all  advice  was  given  regarding  the  amount  of 
money  needed  by  the  traveller.  A hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  was  considered  by  many  to  be  ample  for  a 
year’s  travel ; two  hundred  “ were  superfluous,  and  to 
his  hurt.”3  Yet  Edward  Smyth,  the  tutor  and  com- 
panion of  Francis  Davison,  in  writing  to  the  latter’s 
father,  the  secretary  of  state,  said  that  two  hundred 
pounds  would  hardly  suffice  them,  although  he  had 
never  before  endured  so  much  hardship  to  save  money. 
“ I have  hitherto  gone  to  the  market,  and  as  frugally 
as  I could,  made  our  provision  of  all  our  necessaries ; 

1 Turler,  p.  21.  2 Direction  for  Travailers. 

3 Dallington,  Method  for  Travel. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


133 


and  albeit  we  have  not  at  any  time  more  than  one 
dish,  and  that  not  very  costly  neither,  yet,  with  the 
rent  of  our  chamber,  our  weekly  expenses  amount  very 
nearly  to  forty  shillings,  besides  apparel,  books,  and 
many  other  trifling  charges  which  I see  cannot  be 
avoided,  especially  so  long  as  we  are  in  these  parts, 
where  in  truth  such  are  not  fit  to  remain  as  cannot 
eat  oil,  roots,  salad,  cheese  and  such  like  cheap  dishes, 
which  Mr.  Francis  can  in  no  wise  digest,  and  any  good 
thing  else  whatsoever  is  at  very  great  rate  ; we  are  nec- 
essarily compelled  to  spend  the  more,  and  yet  not  so 
much  as  other  gentlemen  of  our  nation  in  this  town  do 
make  show  of.”  1 The  traveller  was  advised  to  carry 
his  money  in  four  bills  of  exchange,  “ with  letters  of 
advice,  to  be  paid  him  quarterly.”  Regarding  the 
ordinary  rates  of  expense,  they  would  be  about  as  fol- 
lows : ten  gold  crowns  a month  for  his  own  board  and 
lodging,  eight  at  the  most  for  his  man,  two  crowns  a 
month  for  his  fencing,  and  the  like  amount  for  his 
dancing  and  reading ; his  riding  would  cost  him  fif- 
teen crowns  monthly,  but  he  was  to  discontinue  it 
during  the  heat  of  the  year.  The  remainder  of  the 
money  was  to  be  given  up  to  “ apparel,  books,  trav- 
elling charges,  tennis  play,  and  other  extraordinary 
expenses.” 2 

The  travelling  itself  was  done  almost  entirely  on 
horseback  ; occasionally  the  litter  was  employed,3  but 
it  was  unusual  for  men  in  good  health  to  use  it.  Travel, 

1 Davison,  Works,  p.  vii,  and  Harl.  Ms.,  296,  f.  114. 

2 Dallington,  Method  for  Travel.  3 Cf.  Hoby,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  28. 


134  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


where  possible,  was  often  by  water  rather  than  by  land, 
and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  many  of  the  poorer 
Englishmen  who  visited  Italy  in  the  sixteenth  century 
went  there  by  sea;  to  give  a single  instance,  one 
Nicholas  Fluto,  in  his  anxiety  to  see  the  country,  em- 
barked on  a ship  at  Dartmouth,  without  passage- 
money  ; the  condition  being  that  if  he  deserved  his 
food  and  drink  by  his  labor,  he  should  have  it  free ; 
otherwise  his  father  was  to  pay  for  it.1  Travel  then 
was  never  altogether  safe  from  the  danger  of  bandits 
and  pirates.  Hoby  alluded  to  “ the  great  corsair,  Drag- 
out  Rais,”2  and  spoke  also  of  receiving  an  escort  of 
Spanish  soldiers  to  protect  him  from  the  brigands,  who 
“ did  great  damage  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country.” 3 
It  was  this  presence  of  danger,  as  well  as  of  personal 
inconvenience  in  travelling,  which  perhaps  delayed  for 
so  long  the  appreciation  of  natural  beauties.  The 
interest  in  scenery  and  landscape  on  the  part  of  the 
English  travellers  then  in  Italy  was  certainly  not  very 
pronounced.  They  noticed  the  general  situation  of 
each  city,  and  at  times  made  a few  remarks  on  the 
beauty  of  the  locality,  but  their  observations  on  nature 
fell  behind  their  other  comments  ; the  real  attraction 
they  found  in  Italy  lay  in  other  directions. 

The  great  common  bond  which  united  each  traveller 
in  Italy  was  his  love  of  antiquity.  Classical  training 
played  so  large  a part  in  the  education  of  the 
Renaissance  that  it  seemed  as  if  a realization  of  the 

1 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  IV,  581. 

4 Ms.  cit.,  f.  79  b.  3 Ibid.,  f.  82. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


135 


ancient  world,  so  to  speak,  could  be  seen  in  the 
Roman  ruins,  which  were  then  far  more  numerous 
and  in  better  preservation  than  at  the  present  day. 
Whatever  else  the  influence  of  Italy  may  have  stood 
for,  it  was  always  classical. 

The  general  attitude  toward  antiquity  changed,  how- 
ever, with  the  progress  of  the  century.  Before  the  full 
breath  of  the  Renaissance  made  itself  felt  in  England, 
the  interest  taken  in  the  ancient  world  had  been  very 
slight ; Sir  Richard  Guylforde  had  barely  mentioned  the 
supposed  tombs  of  Antenor  of  Troy  and  Livy  the  histo- 
rian, which  were  pointed  out  to  him  at  Padua  ; similarly, 
Robert  Dallington,  in  his  description  of  Tuscany  in 
1 596,  said  very  little  about  ancient  ruins.  The  furor  for 
antiquity  had  come,  and  had  afterwards  begun  to  decline 
in  its  relative  importance,  an  interest  in  contemporary 
Italy  having  taken  its  place.  It  was  rather  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  that  the  greatest  zeal  for 
Roman  remains  existed.  In  both  Hoby  and  Thomas,  it 
is  apparent  at  every  step.  Hoby’s  diary,  for  instance, 
is  full  of  citations  of  classical  interest ; thus,  when  at 
Mantua  he  went  on  a pilgrimage  to  Virgil’s  birthplace, 
in  the  village  of  Pietole,  and  mentioned  that  “ upon 
the  hill  there,  there  is  a little  brick  house  which  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country  call  Casetta  di  Virgilio , hold- 
ing opinion  that  was  his  house.” 1 Later,  when  at 
Naples,  he  likewise  noted  “ a little  old  house  where 
they  say  Virgil  was  buried,”  2 and  quoted  from  it  the 
well-known  epitaph, — 

1 Ms.  cit.,  f.  17. 


2 Ibid.,  f.  52  b. 


136  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

Mantua  me  genuit,  Calabri  rapuere,  tenet  nunc 

Parthenope,  Cecini  pascua  rura,  duces. 

The  ancient  world,  however,  impressed  itself  on  Will- 
iam Thomas  in  a quite  different  way.  The  sight  of 
the  ruins  of  Rome  brought  out  in  him  the  Puritan  and 
moralist,  no  less  than  the  classical  scholar. 

“When  I came  there  and  beheld  the  wonderful 
majesty  of  buildings  that  the  only  roots  thereof  do  yet 
represent,  the  huge  temples,  the  infinite  great  palaces, 
the  immeasurable  pillars,  most  part  of  one  piece,  fine 
marble  and  well  wrought,  the  goodly  arches  of  triumph, 
the  bains,  the  conduits  of  water,  the  images  as  well  of 
brass  as  of  marble,  the  obelisks,  and  a number  of 
other  like  things  not  to  be  found  again  throughout  an 
whole  world;  imagining  withal,  what  majesty  the  city 
might  be  of,  when  all  these  things  flourished.  Then 
did  it  grieve  me  to  see  the  only  jewel  mirror  mistress 
and  beauty  of  this  world  that  never  had  her  like  nor 
(as  I think)  never  shall,  lie  so  desolate  and  dis- 
figured. . . . Nevertheless  when  I remembered  again 
the  occasions  whereof  these  glorious  things  have  grown, 
what  numbers  of  wars  the  Romans  have  maintained  with 
infinite  blood  shedding,  destructions  of  whole  coun- 
tries, ravishments  of  chaste  women,  sack,  spoil,  trib- 
utes, oppression  of  commonwealths,  and  a thousand 
other  tyrannies  without  the  which  the  Romans  could 
never  have  achieved  the  perfection  of  so  many 
wonders  as  mine  eye  did  there  behold.  Then  per- 
ceived I how  just  the  judgment  of  God  is,  that  hath 
made  those  antiquities  to  remain  as  a foul  spoil  of  the 


THE  TRAVELLER 


137 


Roman  pride,  and  for  a witness  to  the  world’s  end  of 
their  tyranny,  so  that  I wot  not,  whether  of  these  two 
is  greater,  either  the  glory  of  that  fame  that  the 
Romans  purchased  with  their  wonderful  conquests ; 
or  their  present  miserable  estate  with  the  deformity  of 
their  antiquities.”  1 

In  addition,  however,  to  his  moralizing  on  the  deca- 
dence of  the  once  great  city,  he  described  at  length 
the  Roman  antiquities.  In  his  account  of  them  he 
wove  a thread  of  mythical  and  historical  anecdotes. 
He  remarked  of  the  great  temples  which  once  stood 
upon  the  Aventine,  that  nothing  remained  of  them,  not 
so  much  as  a fragment  of  the  aqueduct  of  Claudius. 
He  made  each  of  the  seven  hills  tell  its  own  story, 
and  doing  so,  discussed  the  theories  regarding  the 
destruction  of  the  great  buildings  of  the  ancient  world. 
Some  ascribed  it  to  the  barbarians,  others  to  time,  and 
still  others  to  the  stupid  greed  of  the  inhabitants 
themselves,  who  cared  only  for  “ those  noble  antiqui- 
ties to  garnish  and  beautify  private  buildings.”  In 
this  manner  he  made  the  tour  of  pagan  Rome,  gain- 
ing from  Frontinus,  Cassiodorus  and  Vitruvius  his 
insight  into  the  life  of  the  ancient  world.  He  de- 
scribed in  detail  the  sights  of  the  Eternal  City ; the 
Thermae  and  the  Coliseum,  the  triumphal  arches  and 
obelisks.  His  chief  desire  was  to  see  “ some  of  those 
ancient  Romans  that  with  their  naked  majesty  durst 
pass  through  the  power  of  their  victorious  enemies, 
as  Livy  writeth  that  Caius  Fabius  did  when  the  French- 
1 Op.  cit .,  p.  22. 


138  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


men  [Gauls]  had  gotten  Rome  and  besieged  the 
Capital.” 1 

The  ruins  of  Rome  made  a deep  impression  on  the 
visitor  from  the  northern  land ; Joachim  du  Bellay 
had  expressed  their  attraction  in  his  sonnets,  which 
were  later  translated  by  Spenser ; their  subtle  charm 
was  further  described  by  many  other  travellers.  The 
modern  idea  that  the  whole  of  Italy  is  one  vast  mu- 
seum, was  felt  even  then,  though  in  a different  sense. 
To  the  reader  of  the  Roman  historians  it  was  only 
necessary  to  look  around,  to  recall  their  pages,  and 
see  before  his  eyes  the  truth  of  their  descriptions. 
Then  “ if  he  be  not  ravished  with  delight  I shall  take 
him,  but  for  some  stock  or  stone.  . . . What  a pleas- 
ure will  it  be  to  see  the  house  where  Pliny  dwelt,  the 
country  wherein  the  famous  Virgil,  or  the  renowned 
Ovid  was  born.”  How  delightful  to  behold  so  many 
ancient  monuments  and  stately  churches!  “The 
mind  of  man  begins  to  revive,  and  lift  up  himself 
above  itself,  and  to  affect  and  meditate  on  excellent 
and  noble  things  at  the  very  sight  and  consideration  of 
these  so  great  and  glorious  monuments  of  antiquity ; 
neither  can  the  remembrance  of  the  valor,  prowess 
and  virtue  of  former  men  and  ages,  but  engender 
brave  and  worthy  thoughts  in  every  gentle  heart  and 
noble  blood.” 2 

The  effect  of  the  remains  of  antiquity  upon  the 
traveller  was  thus  supposed  by  some  to  elevate  the 

1 Op.  cii.,  p.  32  b. 

2 Direction  for  Travailers. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


139 


mind,  by  others  to  point  out  moral  lessons.  In  each 
individual  it  varied  to  a certain  degree,  but  a com- 
mon element  of  interest  yet  existed.  At  times,  how- 
ever, it  was  rather  archaeological ; thus,  for  instance, 
Jerome  Turler,  in  his  Traveller,  alluded  to  the  delight 
in  discovering  relics  of  classical  times,  and  mentioned 
as  an  example  the  unearthing  in  the  Via  Appia  of  the 
embalmed  body  of  a woman  supposed  to  have  been 
Cicero’s  daughter.  The  interest  taken  in  Latin  epig- 
raphy and  classical  quotations  was  also  great.  Hoby, 
in  his  diary,  copied  a considerable  number  of  inscrip- 
tions from  the  ancient  ruins,  likewise  quoting  freely 
from  Latin  poets ; and  William  Barker,  on  his  return 
from  Italy,  even  published  a book  of  epitaphs  he  had 
collected  there.1 

IV 

The  interest  taken  in  antiquity,  if  it  did  not  yield 
entirely  to  that  found  in  contemporary  Italy,  was 
obliged,  nevertheless,  to  share  its  attraction  with  it. 
The  contemplation  of  an  entirely  new  world,  differing 
in  almost  every  respect  from  England,  aroused  the 
Elizabethan  imagination.  The  novelty  of  the  situation 

1 Epitaphia  et  inscrip/iones  Lugubres  a Gulielmo  Berchero, 
cum  in  Italia  anirni  causa  peregrinaretur  collecta.  William 
Barker,  whom  Hoby  met  at  Siena  in  1549  (Ms.  cit . , f.  25  6), 
later  became  one  of  the  secretaries  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
and  was  deeply  implicated  in  his  plot.  He  confessed  his 
share  under  torture,  whereupon  the  duke,  who  had  denied 
everything,  called  him  contemptuously  an  Italianified  English- 


man. 


140  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


impressed  itself  on  the  visitor,  and  in  many  cases  he 
described  the  smallest  details  as  well  as  what  was  of 
real  importance.  The  characteristics  of  the  Italians 
were  especially  interesting  to  him ; to  note  their 
traits  and  customs  became,  so  to  speak,  an  important 
object  of  every  traveller. 

William  Thomas,  in  spite  of  his  Puritan  leanings, 
was  a great  admirer  of  the  Italians  and  saw  much  to 
praise  in  their  character.  He  himself  had  found  the 
Italian  gentlemen  honorable,  courteous  and  prudent, 
so  that  it  seemed  as  if  each  one  had  received  a princely 
training.  They  were,  moreover,  modest  in  dress,  and 
neat  at  table.  But  above  all  they  were  sober  of  speech, 
enemies  of  slander,  “ and  so  tender  over  their  own 
good  name  (which  they  call  their  honor)  that  whoso- 
ever speaketh  ill  of  any  one  of  them,  shall  die  for  it,  if 
the  party  slandered  may  know  it,  and  find  time  and 
place  to  do  it.  Whereof  there  is  a use  grown  amongst 
them,  that  few  gentlemen  go  abroad  unarmed.” 1 He 
and  many  others  had,  however,  to  censure  the  Italians 
for  their  sensuality  and  other  vices.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that,  as  foreigners  became  more  familiar  with 
Italy,  the  censure  increased ; thus  Turler  noted  that 
the  Italians,  although  grave  and  learned,  were  crafty  and 
jealous.2  Languet,  too,  had  written  Sidney  that  while 
he  could  admire  their  keen  wit,  yet  it  was  mostly  on 
the  surface,  and  they  generally  spoiled  their  attain- 
ments by  undue  display.3  Still  later,  travellers  found 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  4.  2 Turler,  op.  cit.,  p.  40  et  seq. 

3 Sidney  and  Languet,  Correspondence,  p.  12. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


141 

the  Italians  hypocritical,  sensual  and,  worst  of  all,  jeal- 
ous to  an  absurd  degree.  They  were  called  “ invei- 
gling underminers  and  deep  dissemblers  who  when 
they  have  pried  into  your  nature  and  are  privy  to 
your  secrets  will  straight  change  their  copy  and  show 
themselves  in  their  colors.”1  The  gravity  and  dignity 
of  Italians  were,  however,  admired  by  all,2  even  in  after 
years,  when  the  common  idea  of  their  treachery  and 
sensuality  had  passed  into  a byword. 

Regarding  the  division  of  classes  in  Italy,  an  observer 
like  Thomas  was  greatly  impressed  by  the  fact  that 
the  leading  merchants  were  for  the  most  part  gentle- 
men. If  there  are  three  or  four  brothers,  he  wrote, 
one  or  two  of  them  go  into  a trade  ; 3 and  in  case 
they  do  not  divide  their  father’s  patrimony,  then  the 
merchants  work  as  well  for  their  brothers’  benefit  as 
for  their  own.  And  inasmuch  as  their  reputation 
does  not  suffer  by  reason  of  their  trade,  it  follows  that 
there  are  more  wealthy  men  in  Italy  than  in  any  other 
country,  and  there  was  nothing  remarkable  to  find,  in  a 
single  city,  twenty  people  worth  one  hundred  thou- 
sand crowns  or  more.  Thomas  admired  the  Italian 
artificers  “ as  being  the  finest  and  most  inventive  work- 
men of  all  others  ; ” although  they  often  acquired  great 
wealth,  they  rarely  rose  in  the  social  scale.  The 
peasants,  on  the  other  hand,  he  found  were  every- 

1 Direction  for  Travailers. 

2 Even  Dallington  in  his  Method  for  Travel  alludes  to  it;  cf. 
Sandys,  Speculum  Europce , etc. 

3 Op.  cit.,  p.  5. 


142  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


where  oppressed,  often  not  having  enough  to  buy 
bread  with.  All  wealthy  people  and  gentlemen  lived 
in  the  towns,  renting  their  farms  and  pastures ; but 
they  had  country  houses,  where  they  went  in  the 
heat  of  the  summer,  and  there  “ under  the  fresh 
arbors,  hedges,  and  boughs,  amongst  the  delicate 
fruits,  they  triumph  in  as  much  pleasure  as  may  be 
imagined  . . . with  some  instrument  of  music  and  < 
such  other  things  as  serve  for  his  recreation.  And  if 
ever  the  tenant  have  good  day,  then  licketh  he  his  lips 
of  his  master’s  leavings.” 1 

This  contrast  between  the  luxury  and  poverty  of 
Italy  greatly  impressed  Englishmen  still  unused  to 
such  extremes.  Wealth  in  Italy  was  so  unevenly 
divided  that,  while  the  rich  people  were  the  richest 
anywhere,  the  poor  were  likewise  the  poorest.2  Dalling- 
ton  remarked,  when  at  Prato,  that  one-quarter  of  the 
population  were  bare-legged,  so  “ that  we  know  all  is 
not  gold  in  Italy,  though  many  travellers,  gazing  only 
on  the  beauty  of  their  cities,  and  the  painted  surface 
of  their  houses,  think  it  the  only  Paradise  of  Europe. 
But  if  they  would  come  with  me  — 

Sordida  rura 

Atque  humiles  intrare  casas,  et  visere  gentem  — 

they  would  surely  grant  that  poverty  and  famine  had  not 
a greater  kingdom.”  3 On  the  other  hand,  fifty  years 
earlier,  Thomas  was  struck  by  the  luxury  of  the  Milan- 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  6.  2 Sandys,  op.  cit. 

* Dallington,  Tuscany,  p.  16. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


M3 


ese ; “ there  is  almost  no  craftsman’s  wife  in  Milan, 
that  hath  not  her  gown  of  silk  and  her  chain  of  gold  ; ” 1 
Hoby  was  similarly  impressed  by  the  magnificence  he 
saw  around  him  in  the  Italian  cities. 

The  characteristic  traits  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  dif- 
ferent cities  of  Italy  were  likewise  noticed,  and  also  the 
uniformity  of  speech  on  the  part  of  the  better  classes 
who  “ are  brought  up  in  the  courtesan  [language] 
only ; ” although  between  Florentines  and  Vene- 
tians there  is  as  great  a difference  “as  with  us  be- 
tween a Londoner  and  a Yorkshireman.”  2 Venice  in 
particular  aroused  the  admiration  of  all,  and  even 
Languet  excepted  its  citizens  from  his  almost  univer- 
sal condemnation  of  the  country.  What  observers 
particularly  admired  was  that  “unweaponed  men  in 
gowns  should  with  such  happiness  of  success  give 
direction  and  law  to  many  mighty  and  warlike  armies 
both  by  sea  and  land,  and  that  a single  city  unwalled 
and  alone  should  command  and  overtop  mighty  king- 
doms . . . sued  unto  for  entertainment  by  the  greatest 
princes  and  peers  of  Italy ; amidst  which  infinite  afflu- 
ence of  glory,  and  unmeasurable  mightiness  of  power, 
of  which  there  are  in  sovereignty  partakers  above  three 
thousand  gentlemen,  yet  is  there  not  one  among  them 
to  be  found  that  doth  aspire  to  any  greater  appellation 
of  honor,  or  higher  title  of  dignity  than  to  be  called 
* A gentleman  of  Venice.’  ” 3 These  lines  were  written 
at  a time  when  all  else  in  Italy  was  in  decay ; but  a 
half  century  before,  when  the  contrast  was  not  so  sharp, 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  188.  2 Ibid.,  p.  3.  3 Lewkenor,  Venice,  preface. 


144  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Thomas  remarked  that  if  the  Venetians  had  been  men 
as  were  the  Romans,  and  given  as  much  to  deeds  on 
land  as  on  water,  “ they  might  many  years  ago  have 
subdued  the  world.”  As  it  was,  their  power  had 
declined  ever  since  the  taking  of  Constantinople,  and 
“ they  rather  practise  with  money  to  buy  and  sell 
countries  peace  and  war  than  to  exercise  deeds  of 
arms ; . . . most  Venetians  are  at  these  days  become  ( 
better  merchants  than  men  of  war.” 1 

Thomas,  in  his  account  of  the  private  life  of  the 
Venetians,  in  spite  of  their  alleged  faults  of  sensuality, 
avarice  and  pride,  observed  many  good  qualities  as 
well.  He  had  met  both  old  and  young  men  who  were 
all  they  ought  to  be.  He  tried  to  give  both  sides  of 
their  character,  and  allowed  an  imaginary  Venetian  to 
defend  himself  against  his  accusers  ; to  justify  his  pride, 
because  he  was  “a  prince,  and  no  subject,”  his  fru- 
gality, since  the  state  allowed  no  pomp  or  display,  and 
his  lending  money  to  the  commonwealth  because  it 
was  of  advantage  to  both  parties.2  One  other  custom 
he  noticed  was  the  excessive  liberty  given  to  children. 

“ One  is  no  sooner  out  of  the  shell  but  he  is  hail  fellow 
with  father  and  friend.”3  Altogether,  in  spite  of  the 
faults  alleged  against  them,  one  cannot  but  be  im- 
pressed by  the  greater  breadth  of  view  of  the  Vene- 
tians over  the  other  Italians  of  the  late  sixteenth 
century.  The  English  traveller  could  not,  however, 
foresee  that  a far  greater  colonial  empire  than  the 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  75.  2 Ibid.,  p.  84  et  seq. 

8 Ibid.,  p.  84. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


145 


one  slipping  from  the  Venetians’  grasp  would  one  day 
be  the  heritage  of  his  own  descendants,  and  that  its 
possession  would  bring  with  it  many  of  the  qualities  and 
faults  he  had  noted  as  especially  belonging  to  Venice. 

The  ordinary  impression  made  by  the  Florentines  was 
one  of  talkativeness  and  a great  desire  to  appear  elo- 
quent. Thomas  observed  that  “ he  is  not  reputed 
a man  among  them  that  cannot  play  the  orator  in  his 
tale,  as  well  in  gesture  as  in  word.”  1 Dallington,  fifty 
years  later,  wrote  that  although  he  had  heard  much  of 
the  great  wit  of  the  Florentines  he  was  unable  to  find  it 
himself,  whatever  Machiavelli  might  say  about  it ; the 
Florentine  was  good  enough  for  conversation  on  frivo- 
lous subjects,  but  for  nothing  deeper.  And  this,  though 
they  “ do  all  things  alia  mostra  and  speak  always  alia 
grande,  witness  their  great  houses,  and  small  furniture 
of  the  one,  their  great  words  and  small  matter.”2 
Everything  was  done  for  show,  — even  their  duels, 
where  each  party  was  well  armed  under  his  garments. 
He  himself  had  seen  “ two  gallants  in  Pisa  fight  thus 
completely  provided  where  after  a very  furious  en- 
counter, and  a most  merciless  shredding  and  slashing 
of  their  apparel,  with  a most  desperate  resolution  to 
cut  one  another  out  of  his  clothes,  they  were  (to  the 
saving  of  many  a stitch)  parted  and  by  mediation  with 
much  ado  made  friends.”3 

To  follow  the  English  traveller  through  the  cities  of 
Italy  would  be  a study  in  itself.  Each  place  excited 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  139.  2 Dallington,  Tuscany,  p.  61. 

8 Ibid.,  p.  65. 

X, 


K 


146  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


some  comment  on  his  part.  Thus  at  Siena,  Hoby  no- 
ticed the  hospitality  of  every  one,1  while  at  Naples, 
Thomas  remarked  the  politeness  of  the  people,  but 
qualified  it  by  saying  that  they  could  not  be  trusted. 
In  Genoa  he  was  especially  struck  by  the  amorous 
qualities  of  tts  inhabitants,  who  could  indeed  teach 
Ovid  “ a dozen  points  ...  so  that  in  mine  opinion 
the  supreme  court  of  love  is  nowhere  to  be  found  out 
of  Genoa.” 2 

Although  the  English  traveller  in  Italy  no  longer 
went  there  purely  to  study,  he  was  still  interested  in 
culture ; while  at  Padua,  for  instance,  Hoby  alluded 
to  the  great  professors  of  classics,  and  mentioned  later 
that  he  passed  the  birthplace  of  “ the  famous  clerk  in 
letters  of  humanity,  Lazarus  Bonamicus,  stipended 
reader  in  the  schools  of  Padua.”3  The  learning  of 
the  Italian  women  was  also  noticed,4  especially  that 
of  the  Sienese  who  “ wrote  excellently  well  both  in 
prose  and  verse.” s What  made  a deep  impression,  how- 
ever, was  the  Florentine  Academy,  of  which  Thomas 
wrote  probably  the  first  English  account,  all  the  more 
interesting  in  view  of  the  Areopagus  of  Sidney,  and 
of  Bolton’s  idea  of  a similar  institution  which  was 
never  to  take  root  in  England.  The  Academy  seemed 
to  Thomas  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  sights 
he  had  seen.  He  described  how  the  learned  Floren- 
tines met  there,  the  duke  being  of  their  number.  The 

1 Ms.  cit.,  f.  24  b.  4 Turler,  op.  cit.,  p.  43. 

2 Thomas,  op.  cit.,  p.  162.  6 Hoby,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  24  b. 

3 Ms.  cit.,  f.  93. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


147 

one  to  whom  the  task  had  been  assigned  beforehand 
would  ascend  the  tribune  and  deliver  an  oration,  last- 
ing an  hour,  on  any  subject  of  his  choice,  the  orator  of 
the  occasion  being  seated  higher  than  the  duke  himself. 
Thomas  confessed  to  never  having  heard  “reader  in 
school  nor  preacher  in  pulpit  handle  themselves 
better.”1  Later  on,  Dallington  presented  the  other 
side  of  the  picture.  In  former  days,  he  wrote,  the 
Florentines  may  well  have  had  wit,  but  like  spend- 
thrifts they  had  run  through  the  fortune  that  was  left 
them  ; if  Machiavelli  were  still  alive  and  could  see 
those  wont  to  rule  a state  pay  toll  for  a few  lettuce 
brought  from  their  villa,  “ he  would  unsay  that  which 
he  had  formerly  said,  and  swear  they  had  no  wit.” 

V 

Architecture  was  then  the  only  art  really  noticed  by 
English  travellers,  perhaps  because  of  its  learned  side. 
Thomas  devoted  considerable  attention  to  it,  and, 
following  Vitruvius,  he  explained  at  some  length  the 
different  classic  orders  and  styles,  probably  for  the  first 
time  in  English.  The  ruins  of  antiquity  were  likewise 
often  regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  own 
intrinsic  beauty.  Frequently,  too,  the  churches  im- 
pressed the  traveller.  St.  Peter’s  was  briefly  described 
by  Thomas,  who  admired  the  grandeur  of  its  dimen- 
sions, but  said  that  most  people  were  in  doubt  as  to 
whether  it  would  ever  be  finished.2 

The  great  palaces  of  the  Renaissance  were  also 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  139. 


2 Ibid.,  p.  40. 


148  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

objects  of  the  traveller’s  admiration.  Thomas  re- 
marked of  Venice  that  no  place  in  all  Europe  was  able 
to  compare  with  it  in  number  of  sumptuous  houses, 
and  that  there  were  over  two  hundred  palaces  there, 
all  able  to  lodge  any  king.1  In  Rome,  too,  he  thought 
the  Palazzo  Farnese  one  of  the  grandest  buildings  in 
the  world,  and  admired  beyond  measure  the  Belve- 
dere, with  the  fountains  and  orange  trees  around  it, 
which  made  it  look  like  another  paradise. 

The  aesthetic  appreciation  of  the  Englishman  in 
the  sixteenth  century  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  the  only  statues  observed  by  him  were  antiques. 
Classical  education  had  not  yet  deigned  to  notice  con- 
temporary sculpture ; Hoby  almost  alone  admired  a 
marble  fountain  representing  the  story  of  Actseon  by 
Giovan  Angelo  [Montorsoli]  at  Messina,  “ which  to  my 
eyes  is  one  of  the  fairest  works  of  marble  that  ever  I 
saw.”2  But  he  passed  the  bronze  gates  of  the  Bap- 
tistery in  Florence  without  a remark  of  any  kind.  On 
the  other  hand,  such  works  as  the  marble  horses  on 
the  Monte  Cavallo  in  Rome,  supposed  to  have  been  by 
Phidias  and  Praxiteles,  were  mentioned  by  nearly  every 
traveller.  The  statues  of  the  Belvedere  were  also  de- 
scribed by  Thomas,  who  spoke  of  “ the  images  of  fine 
marble,  of  Romulus  and  Remus  playing  with  a wolf’s 
teats,  of  Apollo  with  his  bow  and  arrows,  of  Laocoon 
with  his  two  children  wrapped  about  with  serpents,  of 
Venus  beholding  little  Cupido,  of  the  sorrowful  Cleo- 
patra [Ariadne]  lying  by  the  river  side,  and  divers 

1 Turler,  op.  cit.,  p.  74.  2 Ms.  cit.,  f.  69  b. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


149 


others  too  long  to  rehearse.”1  He  noticed,  also,  the 
numerous  headless  statues  he  saw  everywhere,  which 
he  ascribed  to  the  zeal  of  collectors  who  cut  off  the 
heads  to  transport  them  home.  Even  the  most  culti- 
vated Englishmen  of  the  time  were  unable  to  appreciate 
the  greatest  of  the  Italian  arts.  At  a time  when  painting 
had  barely  passed  its  zenith,  Hoby  and  Thomas  passed 
through  Italy  without  even  noticing  its  existence,  and 
quite  insensible  to  its  charms.  A little  later,  Sidney  al- 
luded, in  a letter  to  his  brother,  to  the  Italian  superiority 
in  painting ; and  he  himself,  it  will  be  remembered,  un- 
decided at  first  whether  to  have  his  portrait  painted  by 
Tintoretto  or  Veronese,  finally  chose  the  latter.  It  was 
not,  however,  until  toward  the  very  end  of  the  century 
that  any  appreciation  of  the  Italian  fine  arts  could  be 
found  in  England.  Lomazzo’s  treatise  was  then  first 
translated,  and  Constable  alluded  in  a sonnet  to  Michel- 
angelo “ the  archpainter,”  and  to  Raphael’s  great  skill.2 
Dallington  likewise,  who  had  previously  praised 
Michelangelo  as  an  “ excellent  painter,”  wrote  that 
Italy  generally  excelled  in  that  art  as  well  as  in  poetry ; 
“ and  no  marvel,  when  all  their  time  is  spent  in  amours, 
and  all  their  churches  decked  with  colors.”  3 

One  of  the  great  causes  which  led  Englishmen  to 
travel  in  Italy  was  the  supposed  preparation  it  gave 
for  court  life.  To  see  as  much  as  possible  of  this  was 
the  object  of  most  travellers.  What  particularly  im- 
pressed them,  however,  was  the  luxury  of  the  great 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  40.  2 Sonnet  to  Mr.  Hilliard. 

8 Dallington,  Tuscany,  p.  62. 


150  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


houses,  while  the  Italian  festivities  and  pageants  were 
noticed  by  all.  The  former,  especially,  greatly  struck 
Hoby,  who  wrote  that  when  he  stopped  with  the 
Marquis  of  Capistrano  at  Amalfi,  he  slept  in  “ a chamber 
hanged  with  cloth  of  gold  and  velvet,”  while  on  the 
bed  was  silver  work,  and  even  the  bolsters  were  of 
velvet.1  Thomas  had  been  similarly  impressed  with 
the  luxury  in  other  parts  of  Italy.  The  pageants  and 
great  spectacles  were  likewise  sights  to  be  seen  by 
travellers.  Perhaps  the  earliest  existing  record  of 
these  by  any  Englishman  in  Italy,  was  a letter  written 
in  t458  by  John  Free,  while  a student  at  Ferrara,  to 
his  protector,  William  Grey,  describing  the  celebrations, 
lasting  four  days,  intended  to  celebrate  the  elevation  of 
Hineas  Sylvius  to  the  papacy.  A Virgilian  song  com- 
posed by  the  prince  himself  was  sung  and  the  feux  de 
joie  were  lit  in  the  evening.  Youths  and  maidens 
sang  through  the  whole  night,  and  the  rejoicings  turned 
almost  into  frenzy  as  the  populace  rushed  madly  from 
one  end  of  the  town  to  the  other  to  the  ringing 
sound  of  trumpets.  On  the  next  day  every  one  turned 
out  to  see  the  horse  races  and  athletic  games.  Free 
described  all  this  with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  young 
student,  who  saw  before  him  the  realization  of  a 
world  he  had  dreamed  of.2 

9 

Other  spectacles  of  similar  nature  were  mentioned 
by  later  travellers  : the  ceremony  of  the  Bucentaur, 
when  the  Doge  went  out  to  wed  the  Adriatic,  was 
written  of  both  by  Torkington  and  Hoby.  One  last 

1 Ms.  cit.,  f.  82  b.  2 Ms.  Bod.,  587,  f.  161. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


15  I 

description  may  be  mentioned.  The  procession  .of 
Pope  Paul  the  Third,  on  Christmas  day,  1547,  was  nar- 
rated at  length  by  William  Thomas,  who  allowed  all  his 
Puritanism  to  appear  in  the  account  he  gave.  “ O 
what  a world  it  is  to  see  the  pride  and  abomination 
that  the  churchmen  there  maintain.  What  is  a king  ? 
What  is  an  emperor  in  his  majesty?  Anything  like  to 
the  Roman  bishop?  No,  surely,  nor  would  I not  wish 
them  so  to  be.”  He  described  the  salvo  of  cannon 
which  greeted  the  cardinals  as  they  crossed  St.  Angelo’s 
bridge,  and  the  guard  of  Switzers,  all  in  white  harness, 
marching  out  to  meet  them.  “ There  was  no  cardinal 
that  came  without  a great  train  of  gentlemen  and 
prelates,  well  horsed  and  appointed ; some  had  forty, 
some  fifty,  and  some  sixty  or  mo[re].  And  next,  before 
every  of  them,  rode  two  henchmen,  the  one  carrying 
a cushion  and  a rich  cloth  and  the  other  a pillar  of 
silver,  and  the  cardinals  themselves  appareled  in  robes 
of  crimson  chamlet,  with  red  hats  on  their  heads,  rode 
on  mules.” 

When  they  were  all  within  the  palace,  the  “ bishop  ” 
(for  Thomas  never  wrote  of  him  as  Pope)  appeared 
with  his  “ triple-crowned  mitre  and  shoes  of  crimson 
velvet  set  with  precious  stones  and  all  his  other  pon- 
tifical apparel.”  Then  the  prelates  and  officers  passed 
before  him  “ which  are  such  a number  as  were  able  to 
make  the  muster  of  a battail,  if  they  were  well-ordered 
in  the  field.  Dataries,  Treasurers,  Clerks  of  the  Cham- 
ber, Penitentiaries,  Prebendaries,  Notaries,  Protono- 
taries, and  a thousand  more,  each  order  of  them  in 


152  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


his  diverse  devise  of  parliamentary  robes,  all  in  scar- 
let, and  for  the  most  part  finely  furred.  Then  came 
the  double  cross,  the  sword  and  the  imperial  hat,  and 
after  that  the  cardinals  by  two  and  two,  and  between 
every  two  a great  rout  of  gentlemen.  Then  came  the 
ambassadors,  and  next  them  the  bishop  himself  bless- 
ing all  the  way,  and  carried  in  his  chaise  by  eight  men 
clothed  in  scarlet ; and  on  either  side  of  him  went  his 
guard  making  room  and  crying,  Abasso  abasso, 
for  they  that  will  not  kneel  shall  be  made  kneel  by 
force.”  And  the  Pope,  having  been  carried  into  a 
chapel  behind  the  altar,  on  “ a throne  of  wonderful 
majesty  was  set  up  as  a god.” 1 

Turning  from  the  personal  reminiscences  of  the 
traveller  to  the  interest  he  took  in  matters  which  might 
later  be  of  use  to  him  in  public  life,  besides  the  gen- 
eral descriptions  of  the  country,  there  was  also  a con- 
siderable amount  of  historical  and  similar  information. 
The  first,  in  the  case  of  Thomas,  was  usually  compiled 
from  the  best  authorities  available,  as  he  wrote  in  ex- 
planation of  his  own  method : “ Conferring  the  dis- 
course of  divers  authors  together,  touching  the  Floren- 
tine histories  and  finding  the  effects  of  them  all  gathered 
in  one  by  Nicholas  Machiavegli,  a notable  learned 
man,  and  secretary  of  late  days  to  the  commonwealth 
there,  I determined  to  take  him  for  mine  only  author  in 
that  behalf.”  2 In  like  manner,  other  historical  accounts 
were  given  by  him  of  the  cities  of  Italy,  for  the  purpose 
of  teaching  the  English  how  from  “ little  beginnings 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  37  et  seq.  2 Ibid.,  p.  140. 


THE  TRAVELLER 


153 


many  great  estates  have  arisen,  and  how  they  that  have 
the  power  to  rule,  by  using  their  authorities  well  and 
prudently,  have  merited  immortal  fame  of  honor  and 
prize.” 1 It  was,  however,  not  so  much  the  historical 
portions  which  were  of  interest  as  those  treating  of  the 
government,  the  laws  and  regulations  of  each  state. 
In  these  were  put  in  practice,  so  to  speak,  the  advice 
given  in  the  theories  of  travel.  The  methods  of  raising 
the  revenue  and  the  powers  and  duties  of  each  office 
were  all  described.  Thus,  in  Venice  it  was  said  of  the 
Doge  that  “ though  in  appearance  he  seemeth  of  great 
estate,  yet  in  very  deed  his  power  is  but  small.  . . . 
some  of  the  Venetians  themselves  call  him  an  honor- 
able slave.” 2 The  privileges  and  duties  of  every  office 
were  discussed  in  this  way.  The  great  council  was 
compared  to  the  English  Parliament,  since  matters 
of  importance  were  submitted  to  it  and  its  judgment 
was  final  on  all  subjects.  In  a similar  manner  the  other 
institutions  of  the  state  were  considered.  The  liberty 
enjoyed  by  strangers  was  greatly  admired  in  Venice. 
“ All  men  have  so  much  liberty  that  they  can  say  what 
they  like  about  the  Venetians  so  long  as  they  attempt 
nothing.”  No  man  marks  another’s  doings  or  med- 
dles with  his  affairs.  “ If  thou  be  a papist,  then  shalt 
thou  want  no  kind  of  superstition  to  feed  upon.  If 
thou  be  a gospeller,  no  man  shall  ask  why  thou  comest 
not  to  church.  If  thou  be  a Jew  or  a Turk,  or  believ- 
est  in  the  devil  (so  thou  spread  not  thy  opinions 
abroad)  thou  art  free  from  all  controlment  . . . and 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  I.  2 Ibid.,  p.  77. 


154  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


generally  of  all  other  things,  so  thou  offend  no  man 
privately  no  man  shall  offend  thee ; which  undoubt- 
edly is  one  principal  cause  that  draweth  so  many 
strangers  thither.”  1 In  a similar  spirit,  the  institu- 
tions of  the  other  states  were  discussed.  But  they 
offered  few  lessons  to  the  English  student  of  govern- 
ment. Italy  had  without  a doubt  degenerated  from  its 
former  condition.  Sidney’s  and  Languet’s  letters  are  ( 
full  of  expressions  of  disgust  at  the  servility  found  there. 
Thomas  long  before  had  noted  that  the  Romans,  in 
spite  of  the  recollections  of  their  former  liberty,  were 
held  in  such  subjection  by  the  Pope  that  they  dared 
not  stir.2  Last  of  all,  Dallington  spoke  of  the  discon- 
tent of  the  Tuscans,  who  found  the  yoke  lie  heavy  on 
their  backs,  and  ended  his  book  with  the  two-edged 
saying,  Qui  sub  Medicis  vivit,  misere  vivit. 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  85.  2 Ibid. , p.  37. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 
I 

A new  era  dawned  in  England  with  Elizabeth’s 
accession  to  the  throne.  The  long  preparation  of  pre- 
vious years  was  to  bear  its  fruit  during  her  reign,  and 
amid  the  dangers  which  then  threatened  the  nation,  a 
generous  enthusiasm  swept  over  England,  and  made 
of  those  years  an  heroic  period  in  its  history.  One  of 
the  main  reasons,  perhaps,  of  the  greatness  of  the 
Elizabethan  Age,  lay  in  the  growth  of  national  con- 
sciousness. Kindred  feelings  and  sentiments  were  in- 
fused into  every  class,  while  a new  social  structure  was 
replacing  the  old  distinctions  of  mediaeval  feudalism. 
The  period  was  also  characterized  by  the  wide  diffusion 
of  Italian  culture,  and  its  spread  from  the  powerful  but 
necessarily  narrow  court  circle  to  the  educated  middle 
classes.  With  the  progress  of  the  age,  travel  abroad, 
which  meant  especially  Italy,  became  even  more  com- 
mon, until  it  was  regarded  as  a necessary  complement 
to  the  education  of  a gentleman ; while  in  England, 
during  this  time,  the  Italian  language  was  taught  and 
Italian  fashions  extensively  copied.  A reaction,  how- 
ever, set  in.  The  growth  of  Puritanism  encouraged 
i5S 


156  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


novelists  to  attack  the  “ Circean  Charms  ” of  Italy  and 
point  out  their  pitfalls  and  perils.  The  “Italianate 
Englishman,”  as  he  was  then  known,  became  alike  an 
object  of  satire  and  reproach. 

The  reaction  against  Italy  was  not  altogether  unex- 
pected. There  had  always  existed  in  England  a dis- 
like for  anything  foreign,  noticed  by  all  the  early 
travellers.  Italians  had  questioned  William  Thomas 
regarding  the  English  incivility  to  strangers,  and  he  re- 
plied that  it  was  then  a thing  of  the  past,1  yet  Petruccio 
Ubaldini,  writing  later,  thought  it  inadvisable  for  stran- 
gers to  travel  in  England  without  a royal  pass,  as  the 
inhabitants  would  find  out  how  their  own  compatriots 
had  been  treated  in  the  stranger’s  country,  and  if 
badly,  the  traveller  would  not  be  very  secure.2  Florio 
likewise  complained  that  the  masses  were  very  dis- 
courteous toward  strangers.3  This  hatred  of  everything 
foreign,  existing  in  the  minds  of  all  untravelled  Eng- 
lishmen and  running  counter  to  the  excessive  imita- 
tion of  Italian  fashions,  stirred  up  a feeling  which 
found  its  outlet  in  the  invectives  launched  against 
Italy  and  the  “ Italianate  Englishman.”  The  cry  was 
joined  in  by  others  who,  having  been  in  Italy  them- 
selves, had  been  shocked  by  its  open  wickedness. 
Satirists,  eager  for  new  sensations,  scholars  and  states- 
men, pamphleteers  and  moralists  all  joined  hands  in 
condemning  what  had  been  the  fashion  of  the  age. 
Florio  in  vain  attempted  feebly  to  defend  the  Italians, 

1 Pilgrim,  p.  6.  2 Ms.  cit.,  f.  230  et  seq. 

3 First  Fruites,  ch.  1 2. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


157 


urging  that  great  virtues  flourished  in  Italy  side  by 
side  with  vice.1  His  was  almost  the  only  note  raised 
in  defence ; all  else  was  invective  and  condemnation. 

It  must  be  said  that  there  was  justification  for  much 
of  the  anti-Italian  feeling  which  then  sprang  up.  Even 
Erasmus  in  his  day  had  complained  that  many  of  the 
scholars  who  went  to  Italy  in  search  of  learning  re- 
turned with  a knowledge  of  evil  practices  they  had 
acquired  there.2  As  travel  became  more  and  more  of 
an  amusement,  and  as  its  educational  value,  while  per- 
haps not  entirely  lost  sight  of,  was  yet  slighted,  it  was 
pleasure  alone  which  many  travellers  sought  for 
abroad,  where  remoteness  from  criticism  gave  license 
to  their  desires.  Temptations  lay  before  them  in  Italy, 
which,  even  if  found  in  England,  were  there,  at  least, 
kept  within  strict  limits.  The  richness  of  Italian  life 
had  not  departed  in  a day,  and  long  after  the  down- 
fall of  its  liberties  in  the  very  midst  of  political  servi- 
tude faint  glimmers  of  former  splendor  remained  in 
its  celebrations  and  festivals.  Too  often  the  young 
Englishman,  travelling  there  for  the  experience  which 
was  to  fit  him  for  the  service  of  his  prince  and  state, 
saw  little  beyond  vice  of  every  kind.  In  many  cases 
he  was  himself  fresh  from  the  university,  for  the  first 
time,  perhaps,  his  own  master,  with  abundant  money 
at  his  command ; and  around  him  he  found  those 
willing  to  pander  to  him  in  all  ways,  and  in  case  his 
conscience  revolted,  to  ease  his  qualms  with  the  sophis- 
try of  which  they  were  masters.  It  was  not  so  much 


1 Second  Fruites,  Introd. 


Epist.,  CCCLXIII. 


158  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


that  vice  was  more  widely  spread  in  Italy  than  be- 
fore, but  rather  that  the  counterbalancing  virtues  had 
departed,  and  it  alone  remained.  Liberty,  crushed 
in  Italy,  left  sensuality  and  treachery.  Former  virtues 
might  still  remain,  but  they  were  beneath  the  surface. 
The  ordinary  English  traveller  in  Italian  cities  saw 
only  their  worst  side,  often  caring  for  no  other.  As 
Ascham  expressed  it,  he  witnessed  greater  freedom  to 
sin  in  his  nine  days’  stay  in  Venice  than  he  had  ever 
heard  of  in  nine  years  in  London. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Italy  had  degenerated 
from  its  former  condition.  The  country  which  had 
been  the  foster-mother  of  all  Europe  was  at  length 
exhausted.  Even  among  Italians  this  decay  was  no- 
ticeable. They  deplored  the  past  greatness  of  their 
land ; superfluous  titles  had  alone  increased ; the 
day  for  deeds  had  gone  by.1  Italy,  however,  still 
traded  on  its  past  fame,  when  first  in  Europe  it  had 
discovered  the  ancient  world.  But  its  fate  had  been 
sealed  from  the  day  when  Rome  was  sacked  and 
pillaged,  and  the  last  stand  for  liberty  had  been  made 
on  the  walls  of  Florence.  Venice  might  still  continue 
in  apparent  magnificence  to  be  queen  of  the  Adriatic, 
but  even  her  life-blood  had  been  sapped.  The  living 
glory  of  Italy  was  soon  to  leave  it.  In  the  influence 
of  its  teachings  beyond  the  Alps,  rather  than  in  its  own 
deeds,  its  greatness  was  mainly  to  continue. 

Foreign  observers  likewise  commented  on  the  degen- 
eracy of  Italy ; some  said  that  the  long  years  of  servi- 
1 Della  Casa,  Galateo,  p.  42. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


159 


tude  had  subdued  the  minds  of  Italians,  who  were 
ready  to  endure  all  kinds  of  indignities.1  Edwin 
Sandys  thought  their  national  faults  to  be  sensuality, 
malice  and  deceit.  In  spite  of  his  having  met  good 
men  in  Italy,  he  wrote,  nevertheless,  that  “ the  whole 
country  is  strongly  overflown  with  wickedness.”-’ 
There  can  be  little  cause  for  surprise  that  moralists, 
when  they  saw  the  best  youth  of  England  returning 
from  Italian  travel,  aping  ridiculous  customs  and  fash- 
ions and  outwardly  advocating  immorality  and  atheism, 
should  have  preached  against  the  foreign  influence. 
“ Our  countrymen  usually  bring  three  things  with 
them  out  of  Italy,  a naughty  conscience,  an  empty 
purse,  and  a weak  stomach.”3  The  movement  was 
fostered  by  the  growth  of  Puritanism,  which  looked 
with  suspicion  on  anything  hailing  from  a Catholic 
nation.  At  a time  when  the  conflict  arising  from 
the  Reformation  was  still  in  its  most  deadly  phase, 
Italy,  which  to  many  Englishmen  seemed  the  enemies’ 
country,  was  to  be  rigidly  avoided  in  spite  of  its  attrac- 
tions. News  of  Englishmen  imprisoned  by  the  Inquisi- 
tion was  extensively  circulated  to  frighten  others  away ; 
the  fanatic  Richard  Atkins,  who  attempted  to  convert 
the  Pope,  was  made  into  a martyr  and  a hero.  Trav- 
ellers were  especially  warned  against  Jesuits,  who  would 
make  of  men  “bad  Christians  and  worse  subjects.”4 
On  account  of  these  dangers,  Rome  was  not  considered 
a safe  place  to  visit.  Sidney,  at  Languet’s  request, 

1 Languet,  Epist.,  XXXIII.  3 Turler,  op.  cit. 

2 Speculum  Europce.  4 Dallington,  Method  of  Travel. 


l60  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


refrained  from  going  there,  much  as  he  would  have 
liked  to  have  done  so.  Others  similarly  recommended 
their  readers  to  keep  away  from  Rome,  which  was  per- 
ilous both  to  conscience  and  conduct.1  The  whole  of 
Italy  was  considered  scarcely  less  dangerous.  “ I am 
convinced  that  this  baneful  Italy  would  so  contaminate 
the  very  Turks,  would  so  ensnare  them  with  all  its  vile 
allurements,  that  they  would  soon  fall  down  of  them- 
selves from  their  high  place,”  Sidney  wrote  in  a letter 
from  Venice.2  For  similar  reasons  Lord  Burleigh,  in 
giving  advice  to  his  son  Robert  Cecil,  urged  him  never 
to  allow  his  sons  to  cross  the  Alps  “ for  they  shall  learn 
nothing  there  but  pride,  blasphemy  and  atheism.”  3 

Those  supposedly  best  qualified  to  judge,  who  had 
written  of  travels  in  foreign  countries,  warned  their 
compatriots  of  the  physical  as  well  as  moral  perils  they 
would  have  to  encounter.  “ O Italy  academy  of  man- 
slaughter, the  sporting  place  of  murder,  the  apothecary 
shop  of  all  nations  ! How  many  kinds  of  weapons  has 
thou  invented  for  malice  ! ” 4 George  Gascoigne,  in  his 
lines  to  a friend  about  to  travel  in  Italy,  advised 
him  to  beware  of  poison  when  invited  to  dinners, 
never  to  drink  before  another  had  tasted  the  beverage, 
to  be  on  the  lookout  for  poisoned  soap,  and  take 
care  lest  the  tailor  stuff  his  doublet  with  what  might 
bring  on  a deadly  sweat.5  The  Italian  art  of  poisoning 

1 Marlianus,  preface.  Dallington,  Method  for  Travel. 

2 Letters,  p.  48.  3 Cited  in  Zouch,  Life  of  Sidney,  p.  373. 

4 Nash,  Piers  Penniless,  p.  38. 

5 Hundred  Sundry  Flowers. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


161 


impressed  itself  especially  on  the  Elizabethan  imagina- 
tion and  furnished  endless  material  to  the  dramatists. 

Dangers  of  different  kinds  were  thus  alleged  against 
the  insidious  influences  of  Italy.  Travellers  thence 
“bring  home  nothing  but  mere  atheism,  infidelity, 
vicious  conversation,”  and  returned  to  England  far 
worse  than  they  came.1  Just  as  the  young  Athenian 
who,  going  to  Corinth  to  hear  the  eloquence  of  Demos- 
thenes, was  seduced  by  the  beauty  of  Lais,  so  the  young 
Englishman  who  travelled  to  learn  a strange  language 
was  “in  short  time  transformed  into  so  monstrous  a 
shape,  that  he  is  fain  to  alter  his  mansion  with  his 
manners.” 2 The  zealous  Protestant,  after  having  been 
in  Italy,  would  proclaim  that  faith  and  truth  were  to  be 
kept  only  where  there  was  no  loss,  and  forgiveness 
should  not  be  shown  until  full  revenge  had  been 
exacted.  Another  would  say  on  his  return,  that  he 
was  a fool  who  took  account  of  any  religion,  but  an 
even  greater  fool  if  he  lost  any  of  his  wealth  thereby ; 
and  if  he  were  willing  to  give  up  his  life  for  it,  he  must 
be  stark  mad.  Still  a third  said  he  cared  not  for  God, 
so  long  as  he  had  the  prince  and  the  country’s  laws 
on  his  side.3  It  was  said  of  the  “ Italianate  English- 
man ” that  he  held  in  greater  reverence  the  Triumphs 
of  Petrarch  than  the  book  of  Genesis,  and  preferred  a 
tale  of  Boccaccio  to  a story  in  the  Bible.  The  mys- 
teries of  religion  he  considered  to  be  fables,  and  made 

1 Harrison,  England,  p.  129  et  seq. 

2 F.  Meres,  Palladis  Tamia,  p.  237. 

3 Harrison,  loc.  cit. 


M 


1 62  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


“ Christ  and  his  Gospels  only  serve  civil  policy.”  If 
it  suited  his  purpose,  he  would  openly  promote  religion, 
and  again  scoff  at  it  in  private.  He  cared  neither  for 
scripture  nor  church,  and  when  in  the  company  of 
those  who  thought  like  him,  he  would  mock  the  Pope 
and  rail  at  Luther,  explaining  all  the  mysteries  of 
religion  with  a half-verse  of  Horace,  Credat  Judceus 
Apella.  An  epicure  in  living,  an  atheist  in  doctrine,  the 
only  heaven  he  desired  was  that  of  his  own  pleasure.1 
In  Italy  itself  the  Inglese  Italianato  e un  Diavolo 
Incarnato  passed  as  a byword. 

The  Italianate  Englishman  was  to  be  described, 
even  more  plainly,  as  one  who,  after  living  and  travel- 
ling in  Italy,  brought  back  with  him  to  England  “ the 
religion,  the  learning,  the  policy,  the  experience,  the 
manners  of  Italy.  . . . These  be  the  enchantments 
of  Circe  brought  out  of  Italia  to  mar  men’s  manners 
in  England,  and  which  * Our  Italians  ’ returned  with.” 2 
A young  man  thus  brought  up,  said  Ascham,  contemn- 
ing all  religion  and  honest  living,  would  come  back  to 
England  but  ill  taught  to  be  either  an  honest  man  or 
a good  subject  of  his  prince  or  his  God. 

It  was  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  educators 
and  moralists  looked  with  alarm  on  the  effects  of 
Italian  travel  on  Englishmen.  Roger  Ascham,  meet- 
ing Sir  Richard  Sackville  in  the  queen’s  privy  chamber 
at  Windsor,  had  been  asked  his  opinion  regarding 
the  desire  of  so  many  Englishmen  to  travel  abroad, 
and  especially  to  spend  a long  time  in  Italy.  In 

1 Ascham,  Scholemaster,  p.  71  et  seq.  * Ibid. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


163 


his  reply  he  stated  that  he  did  not  underrate  the 
value  of  experiences  acquired  in  foreign  countries, 
nor  disparage  the  Italian  language  which,  after  Latin 
and  Greek,  he  loved  above  all  other  foreign  tongues, 
nor  did  he  bear  personal  malice  toward  Italy.  For- 
merly it  had  been  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the 
world  at  large,  and  had  brought  forth  the  worthiest 
men  in  all  activities  of  public  life.  Times,  however, 
had  changed,  and  between  the  new  and  the  old  there 
was  as  great  difference  as  between  black  and  white. 
Virtue  had  once  made  Italy  mistress  of  the  world. 
Vice  now  compelled  her  to  be  a slave  to  all  other 
nations,  and  made  its  inhabitants  willing  to  bear  the 
stranger’s  yoke.  It  was  no  longer  the  place  where  a 
man  could  learn  either  wisdom  or  proper  conduct.1 
On  similar  grounds  Harrison  wrote  that  the  usual 
sending  of  “ noblemen’s  and  mean  gentlemen’s  sons 
into  Italy  ” was  to  the  detriment  of  England.2  “ Eng- 
land is  indeed  injured  by  the  taste  of  the  upper  classes 
for  foreign  things  alone,”  wrote  Richard  Mulcaster.3 
Everything  learned  in  travel,  he  argued,  could  as 
readily  be  acquired  at  home,  and  with  it,  moreover,  a 
love  for  one’s  native  soil.  Each  country  ought  to  de- 
velop its  own  individuality ; foreign  customs  would  not 
fit,  and  foreign  ideas  only  distorted  one’s  own.  The 
things  observed  in  travel  were  not  in  themselves 
valuable.  It  was  rather  the  language  and  learning, 
which  could  as  readily  be  studied  at  home,  as  in  the 

1 Ascham,  op.  cit.,  p.  72.  2 Harrison,  loc.  cit. 

3 Positions,  p.  210. 


1 64  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


case  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  had  gathered  in  England 
the  best  fruits  of  the  wisdom  of  other  nations.  The 
greatest  danger  Englishmen  had  to  fear  was  their  tod 
great  liking  for  what  was  foreign.  The  true  lesson  of 
patriotism  was  to  be  studied  in  one’s  native  land.  “ I 
love  Rome,  but  London  better.  I favor  Italy,  but 
England  more.  I honor  the  Latin,  but  I worship  the 
English.” 1 

II 

The  new  type  of  Italianate  Englishman  who  re- 
turned home,  bringing  with  him  foreign  affectations 
and  vices,  with  a smattering  of  learning  and  a pretence 
of  worldly  wisdom  doubly  irritating  to  sober  English- 
men, was  no  rare  exception.  Marlowe  represented 
him  in  Piers  Gaveston , the  royal  favorite.  Shake- 
speare portrayed  him  somewhat  differently  in  Jacques 2 
who,  after  a career  of  libertinage,  returned  from  his 
travels  abroad  disappointed  with  life  and  with  every- 
thing English.  To  him  Rosalind  says  : “ Farewell, 
Monsieur  Traveller ; look  you  lisp  and  wear  strange 
suits ; disable  all  the  benefits  of  your  own  country ; 
be  out  of  love  with  your  nativity  and  almost  chide 
God  for  making  you  that  countenance  you  are,  or 
I will  scarce  think  you  have  swam  in  a gondola.” 
In  Jack  Wilton , Nash  wrote  that  Italy  made  the  young 
man  kiss  his  hand  like  an  ape,  and  cringe  his  neck. 
“ From  thence  he  brings  the  art  of  atheism,  the  art 
of  epicurising,  the  art  of  poisoning,  lasciviousness,”  and 

1 Ele7nentary,  p.  254  et  seq. 

2 As  You  Like  It,  IV,  1,  32. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


165 


unnatural  vices.  The  only  benefit  he  acquired  was 
that  it  made  him  a good  courtier,  an  excellent 
“ carpet  knight.”  The  young  English  “ Italianate 
Signior,”  as  Gabriel  Harvey  called  him,  in  a letter 
to  Spenser,  would  praise  the  Italian  poets  above  all 
others,  and  denounce  everything  English,  whether  in 
apparel,  language  or  behavior.  Everything  not  out- 
landish, or  which  savored  in  any  way  of  England,  was 
thought  vulgar  and  base.  “ O Italish  England,”  he 
wrote,  “ what  has  become  of  your  ancient  fortitude 
and  might ; since  Tuscanism  has  come  in,  Vanity  is 
above  all  else,  and  next  comes  villainy ; there  is  no 
one  who  is  not  a minion ; grand  words  cover  feeble 
deeds.”  1 He  drew  a picture  of  the  Italianate  Eng- 
lishman, which,  according  to  Nash,  was  meant  to  be  a 
satire  on  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  who,  but  lately  returned 
from  his  Italian  travels,  had  introduced  from  that  coun- 
try various  articles  of  dress  and  toilet  previously  un- 
known in  England  : — 

Indeed  most  frivolous : not  a look  but  Italish  always. 

His  cringing  side  neck,  eyes  gleaming,  physiognomy  smirking. 
With  forefinger  kiss,  and  brave  embrace  to  the  footward. 
******* 

A little  apish  hat,  crushed  fast  to  the  pate  like  an  oyster; 

French  cambric  ruffs,  deep  with  a witness  starched  to  the  purpose. 
Every  one  a per  se  a ; his  terms  and  braveries  in  print. 

Delicate  in  speech,  quaint  in  array,  conceited  in  all  points. 

* ****** 

In  courtly  guises,  a passing  singular  odd  man. 

This  nay  more  than  this  doth  practice  of  Italy  in  one  year.- 

1 Letter-Book,  p.  65.  2 Ibid.,  p.  97. 


1 66  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


There  was  much  in  the  behavior  of  Englishmen  fresh 
from  Italian  travels,  in  their  depreciation  of  their 
own  country  and  excessive  admiration  for  everything 
foreign,  to  irritate  sensible  men.  George  Pettie  said 
that  he  had  himself  heard  them  telling  foreigners  that 
England  was  barbarous,  that  English  manners  were 
rude,  and  English  people  uncivil ; and  if  strangers 
should  think  this  true,  he  said  it  was  owing  to  Eng- 
lish travellers  abroad,  who  ran  down  their  own  country, 
and  contemned  one  another,  no  less  than  they  “ apishly 
imitate  every  outlandish  ass,  in  their  gestures,  behavior, 
and  apparel.” 1 

This  affectation  of  everything  Italian,  noticed  by 
the  Italians  themselves,2  offered  the  dramatists  and 
poets,  but  chiefly  the  pamphleteers,  fine  opportunities 
for  satires  and  jests.  Shakespeare  makes  the  Duke 
of  York  say  : — 

The  open  ear  of  youth  doth  always  listen  ; 

Report  of  fashions  in  proud  Italy, 

Whose  manners  still  our  tardy  apish  nation 
Limps  after  in  base  imitation.3 

Strangely  enough  the  literary  men,  who  were  them- 
selves most  influenced  by  Italy,  were  the  loudest  in 
their  denunciations.  John  Marston,  himself  partly 
Italian,  spoke  of  the  youth  who  abused  their  time  in 

1 Guazzo,  preface. 

2“Costumi  e maniere  Italiane  estimate  et  imitate  da  loro 
[Inglesi]  piu  che  quelli  di  altre  nationi.” — Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven., 
VI,  1080-81.  Vide  also  Cardan’s  Diary,  etc. 

8 Richard  II,  II,  I,  20  et  seq. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER  1 6/ 

travel  and  came  home  “ in  clothes  Italianate,” 1 
returning  with  all  kinds  of  half- devised  villanies,  of 
which  the  very  beasts  of  the  field  would  blush.  Vice 
and  the  art  of  poisoning  was  what  they  brought 
back  with  them.  Gabriel  Harvey  had  accused  Nash 
of  having  travelled  in  Italy  “ to  fetch  him  twopenny 
worth  of  Tuscanism,”  quite  renouncing  his  ordinary 
English  intonation  and  gestures  to  adopt  the  Italian 
manner.  Nash,  however,  in  spite  of  being  known  as 
the  “ English  Aretine,”  was  full  of  condemnation  for  the 
“ filthy  Italianate,”  and  described  how  he  himself  had 
hastened  “out  of  the  Sodom  of  Italy,”  where  only 
lasciviousness  could  be  learned.2  And  Robert  Greene 
confessed  regretfully  that  on  his  Italian  travels  he 
“ saw  and  practised  such  villany  as  it  is  abominable 
to  declare.” 3 

The  dramatists  and  pamphleteers,  however,  could 
not  equal  the  ardor  of  the  Puritans  who  thundered 
invectives  in  denouncing  the  Italian  danger.  “ We 
have  robbed  Italy  of  wantonness,”  wrote  Stephen 
Gosson ; “ compare  London  to  Rome,  and  England 
to  Italy,  you  shall  find  the  theatres  of  the  one  and  the 
abuses  of  the  other,  to  be  rife  among  us.” 4 He 
complained  especially  of  the  “ many  wanton  books 
which,  being  translated  into  English,  have  poisoned 
the  old  manners  of  our  country  with  foreign 

1 Scourge  of  Villainy,  Bk.  Ill,  Sat.  IX,  1.  90;  Vide  Bk.  I, 
Sat.  II. 

2 Nash,  III,  243;  V,  146,  etc passim. 

3 The  Repentance.  4 School  of  Abuse,  p.  34. 


1 68  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


delights.”1  Others  likewise  found  a great  source 
of  danger  in  the  English  translations  of  Italian 
books.  It  was  thought  a pity  that  they  were 
allowed  to  be  printed.  Ten  sermons  at  St.  Paul’s 
did  not  so  much  good  as  a single  one  of  these 
books  did  harm  in  enticing  men  to  wickedness, 
corrupting  honest  living,  and  undermining  religion.2 
Although  Ascham  condemned  the  chivalric  romance 
of  former  years,  where  the  noblest  knights  were 
those  who  killed  most  men  and  committed  the 
foulest  adulteries,  he  could  not  but  feel  that  ten 
Morte  d' Arthurs  did  not  do  one-tenth  as  much 
harm  as  the  English  translation  of  Italian  books, 
“ sold  in  every  shop  in  London,  commended  by 
honest  titles,  the  sooner  to  corrupt  honest  manners ; 
dedicated  over  boldly  to  virtuous  and  honest  person- 
ages, the  easier  to  beguile  simple  and  innocent  wits.” 
They  taught  such  things  and  such  wickedness  “ as 
the  simple  head  of  an  Englishman  was  unable  to 
invent,  nor  had,  indeed,  ever  before  been  heard  of  in 
England.” 3 

A different  side  of  the  Italian  danger  was  brought 
out  by  the  numerous  Italian  adventurers  of  every 
description,  who  then  overran  all  Europe,  and  were 
regarded  as  the  corrupters  of  nations.  A parliamentary 
inquiry  in  1559  had  stated  that  the  Italians,  above  all 

1 Plays  Confuted  in  Five  Actions. 

2 Op.  cit.,  p.  80. 

3 Ibid.  Ascham  had  probably  in  mind  Fenton’s  transla- 
tion of  Bandello,  dedicated  to  Lady  Mary  Sidney. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


169 


others,  should  be  guarded  against,  since  they  passed 
to  and  fro  everywhere,  “ serve  all  princes  at  once,”  and 
“ with  their  perfumed  gloves  and  wanton  presents,  and 
gold  enough  to  boot  if  need  be,  work  what  they  list, 
and  lick  the  fat  even  from  our  beards.” 1 From 
time  to  time  many  similar  expressions  of  opinion  can 
be  found.2  In  a speech  against  Elizabeth’s  marrying 
a foreigner,  particular  reference  was  made  to  the  im- 
morality of  the  Italians.3 

In  France,  where  the  power  of  the  Italians  was  even 
greater  than  in  England,  a similar  reaction  of  anti- 
Italian  feeling  had  been  going  on.  Jacques  Grevin, 
Henri  Estienne,  Jacques  Tahureau  and  Jean  de  la 
Taille,  all  satirized  those  who  aped  the  Italian  fashions, 
and  were  then  trying  to  make  the  French  language  a 
servile  copy  of  Italian.  A special  attack  was  made 
by  Gentillet  against  Machiavelli,  whose  name,  in  con- 
sequence, passed  into  an  English  byword  for  tyranny 
and  treachery.  The  Huguenot  Languet,  in  a letter  to 
Sidney,  also  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  coun- 
tries which  made  use  of  Italian  counsels  in  their  gov- 
ernment had,  in  consequence,  been  involved  in  the 
greatest  calamities.4 

The  most  interesting,  however,  of  all  anti-Italian 
literature  was  a work  on  the  subtlety  of  the  Italians, 

1 Hist.  Mss.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  I,  163. 

2 Vide  Silver,  Paradoxes  of  Defence. 

3 Strype,  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  p.  233. 

4 Correspondence,  Epist.  XXXIII,  cited  in  Zouch’s  Sidney, 
P-  79- 


170  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


which  bade  the  nations  of  Europe  rise  up  in  common 
defence  against  Italy.1  From  internal  evidence  the 
book  was  probably  written  by  a Frenchman.  There 
was,  however,  nothing  very  unusual  in  this ; Claudius 
Hollyband  wrote  in  English,  as  did  likewise  the  Italian 
Vincenzo  Saviolo. 

The  writer  traced  the  alleged  cunning  of  the 
Italians  from  its  earliest  origin  in  Roman  times. 
He  found  it  even  in  Romulus,  the  murderer  of 
Remus,  in  Numa  Pompilius,  “ a most  subtle  in- 
venter of  a forged  religion  ” ; in  Julius  Caesar, 
who  had  pillaged  all  Europe.  He  saw  it  con- 
tinuing after  the  papacy  had  taken  the  place  of 
paganism.  Although  intending  neither  to  censure 
the  Pope  nor  even  the  Church  of  Rome,  he  could 
not  help  noticing  the  fact  that  the  subtle  Italians 
borrowed  the  papal  authority  to  mask  their  wiles. 
Whatever  was  done  under  the  name  of  the  Pope 
was  in  reality  only  “ the  counsel  and  invention  of 
the  Italians  of  Rome.”  In  this  manner,  the  clergy, 
fighting  over  the  interpretation  of  biblical  texts, 
fell  into  the  traps  laid  for  them  by  the  wily  Italians, 
who  were  always  inventing  new  obscurities,  so  that 
their  assistance  might  be  summoned  to  show  the  way 
to  heaven  and  salvation,  that  they  might  thus  reap 
profit  from  the  ruin  of  others. 

If  the  Italians  could  only  obtain  a footing  north  of 
the  Alps,  the  writer  went  on  to  say,  by  various  shifts 
and  subtleties  they  tore  asunder  all  bonds  of  friend- 

1 The  Subtlety  of  the  Italians , by  F.  G.  B.  A.,  1591. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER  171 

ship,  and  set  the  different  nations  fighting  among 
themselves,  after  which  they  would  “ fish  for  their 
riches  and  dignities.”  Their  crafty  and  deceitful 
nature  had,  without  difficulty,  been  able  to  domi- 
nate other  people  and  obtain  their  money  from  them. 
In  this  manner,  Catherine  de’  Medici,  with  her  coun- 
cil of  Italians,  had  disposed  of  all  the  affairs  of 
France.  “ Like  bloodsuckers,  they  sucked  the  blood 
of  the  poor  people  as  dry  as  if  it  had  been  crushed 
out  in  a wine  press,”  filling  their  own  purses  in  the 
meantime,  while  they  managed  to  throw  the  blame  on 
other  people’s  shoulders.  If  any  one  should  ask  what 
had  become  of  all  the  money  levied  in  France,  he  had 
only  to  go  to  Florence  and  see  its  sumptuous  buildings 
and  “ the  wondrous  wealth,  wherein  many  Florentines 
swim,  which  came  like  poor  snakes  into  France.” 

The  supposed  method  by  which  the  Italians  set  out 
to  ruin  a country  was  described  in  detail.  They  , 
would  begin  with  one  part  or  class,  and  then  gradually 
work  round  to  the  others.  One  could  not  but  admire 
their  ingenuity,  in  reaping  every  advantage  to  the 
utmost.  They  used  religion  merely  as  a cloak  to 
domination,  caring  for  its  truth  only  in  so  far  as  it  was 
of  use  to  them.  In  order  to  make  the  kings  of  the 
earth  their  vassals,  they  stirred  up  wars  among 
them.  “To  fish  money  out  of  Judaea”  they  had 
brought  about  the  Crusades.  To  blind  the  youth 
of  other  countries  to  their  machinations,  they  made 
use  of  Jesuits  to  fill  the  chairs  of  universities.  By 
every  conceivable  means,  from  ecclesiastical  patron- 


172  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


age  to  bestowing  empty  titles  on  monarchs,  they 
secured  the  upper  hand.1 

It  was  only  the  Italian  form  of  Catholicism  which 
was  so  savagely  attacked ; of  all  other  Catholics  the 
writer  spoke  in  the  very  highest  terms  of  respect,  even 
half  suggesting  that  another  Pope  be  established  for 
the  rest  of  Europe,  who  should  be  independent  of 
Rome.  His  grievance  was  largely  an  economic  one, 
as  was  Luther’s,  when  he  wrote  that  German  money 
took  wings  to  fly  across  the  Alps  but  never  returned.2 
The  remedy  proposed  was  to  be  of  equal  benefit  to 
Catholic  and  Protestant  nations.  If  men  did  only 
observe,  they  would  see  that  God  had  set  as  pro- 
tection for  the  rest  of  mankind,  on  one  side  the 
Alps  and  on  the  other  the  deep  seas.  The  Italians 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  shut  up  from  all  access  or 
entrance  into  other  countries.  If  such  means  were 
adopted,  “ we  no  more  shall  be  exposed  to  the  lamen- 
table miseries  into  which  they  were  wont  to  bring  us 
headlong  at  their  own  lust  and  pleasure.” 

Ill 

It  seems  remarkable  that  one  of  the  most  curious 
types  of  Englishmen  should  be  known  by  no  account 
of  himself,  or  of  his  own  tastes  and  peculiarities,  but 

1 To  many  the  power  of  Rome  seemed  the  centre  of  Italian 
schemes;  Thomas  Palmer  declared  it  to  be  “ the  forge  of  every 
policy  that  setteth  princes  at  odds.”  Method  of  Travel,  p.  44. 

2 Address  to  the  German  Nobility.  Ed.  Wace  and  Buchheim, 
p.  32  et  seq. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


173 


only  by  the  satires  and  invectives  written  against  him. 
The  Italianate  Englishman,  who  followed  Italian  ways 
in  everything,  who  admired  no  wisdom  which  did  not 
come  from  across  the  Alps,  who  regulated  his  life  to 
imitate  the  Italians,  wrote  no  defence  of  himself.  He 
who  was  accused  of  corrupting  his  native  land  by 
introducing  foreign  vices,  paid  no  attention  to  the 
popular  voice.  His  own  position  at  court  was  secure 
from  the  fumings  of  moralists  and  the  bitter  attacks  of 
pamphleteers.  Some  were  even  afraid  to  attack  him ; 
Harrison,  for  instance,  in  a rather  general  condemnation, 
ended  abruptly  by  refusing  to  say  more  about  Italia- 
nates,  lest  he  should  offend  too  much.1  But  although 
unaffected  by  popular  clamor,  it  is  noteworthy  that 
his  example  was  not  followed,  and  the  very  name  of 
Italianate  Englishman  passed  into  disuse,  even  though 
Bishop  Hall,  and  much  later  James  Howell,  were  still 
to  warn  their  readers  of  the  continuance  of  the  Italian 
danger. 

The  great  success  of  Italianism  in  England  con- 
tributed to  its  final  overthrow.  Along  with  the  ridicu- 
lous aping  of  Italian  fashions  on  the  part  of  the 
courtiers,2  a freedom  was  professed  by  many  from  all 
moral  and  religious  restraints,  till  the  Englishman  return- 
ing from  Italy  began  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  enemy 
of  society.  The  vices  he  flaunted  so  openly  were 
turned  against  him  and  served  to  fan  the  flame  of 
Puritanism.  At  the  same  time  the  Italianate  Eng- 

1 Harrison,  op.  cit.,  p.  1 29  et  seq. 

2 Vide  The  English  Ape , the  Italian  Imitation,  1588. 


174  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

lishman  cannot  fairly  be  charged  with  being  the  only 
factor  in  the  reaction  which  now  made  itself  felt  against 
Italy,  nor  were  the  dangers  of  immorality,  of  atheism 
and  the  power  of  the  Roman  church,  the  only  charges 
which  were  brought  up  against  Italy.  A hatred  for  every- 
thing foreign  had  long  existed  in  the  English  mind,  and 
the  competition  of  Italians  in  commerce  and  trade  only 
increased  the  dislike.  Along  with  it,  too,  there  went ( 
a growing  feeling  of  nationality,  which  stoutly  rebelled 
at  every  sign  of  alien  power;  it  penetrated  even  the 
scholarly  world,  where  it  brought  about  a strong  move- 
ment against  the  introduction  of  foreign  and  learned 
words  into  the  English  language,  protesting  against 
both  Italianisms  and  the  so-called  ink-horn  terms.1 

In  the  century  and  a half  which  extended  from  the 
first  beginnings  of  the  English  Renaissance  to  the  time 
when  with  the  death  of  Elizabeth  it  properly  ended, 
much  of  what  was  good  in  Italy  had  been  transplanted 
to  England.  In  certain  cases  the  work  failed  of  result ; 
the  fine  arts,  for  instance,  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have 
taken  English  root ; but,  generally  speaking,  whatever 
was  suitable  for  the  Northern  Land  had  found  its  way 
there.  Scholarship,  literature,  social  life,  and  even 
statecraft,  were  all  affected  by  the  Italian  influence. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  however, 
England,  still  growing  in  the  fulness  of  its  youth,  had, 
as  it  were,  little  to  learn  from  the  aged  Italy,  which 
then  lay  helpless  beneath  the  invader.  The  degen- 
eracy of  the  country  was  apparent  to  all  thoughtful 


1 Cf.  Gascoigne,  Works. 


THE  ITALIAN  DANGER 


175 


persons.  Those  who  then  combated  its  influence  should 
for  that  reason  not  be  thought  blind  Philistines,  anxious 
only  to  destroy  what  they  were  themselves  unable  to 
understand,  but  stern-minded  moralists,  who  saw  the 
hollowness  of  what  once  was  great,  and  realized  the 
dangers  which  lay  in  its  decay.  With  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  moreover,  the  Italian  in- 
fluence was  in  many  ways  stationary,  if  not  actually  on 
the  wane ; the  want  of  fresh  vigor  to  reenforce  its 
claims,  perhaps  no  less  than  the  attacks  of  moralists, 
had  brought  it  to  a standstill ; but  more  than  anything 
else  was  the  fact  that  its  place  had  been  filled  by  Spain 
and  France,  then  growing  in  their  strength.  Both  coun- 
tries, influenced  by  Italian  traditions,  contained  beneath 
the  surface  the  civilization  and  culture  of  Italy,  which 
was  often  outwardly  hidden  from  view.  It  was  Italy 
transformed,  passed  through  another  mould,  and  bear- 
ing on  its  surface  the  stamp  of  France  or  Spain, — 
but  it  was  Italy  none  the  less,  whose  foster-children 
were  now  to  continue  her  work.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  the  history  of  Italian  influence  in  England  after 
the  death  of  Elizabeth  has  in  one  way  little  new  to  offer. 
For  a time,  indeed,  the  influence  lingered  at  the  court 
of  the  Stuarts ; the  poetry  of  Drummond,  the  masks 
of  Ben  Jonson  and  Inigo  Jones,  bore  witness  that  it 
was  not  yet  dead,  while  the  mansions  erected  by  the 
latter  showed  that  the  architecture  of  the  Italian 
Renaissance  could  flourish  in  England  as  well ; but 
its  vitality  in  the  life  of  the  English  people  had  de- 
parted once  and  for  all. 


< 


' 

, 


PART  SECOND 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND:  CHURCHMEN, 
ARTISTS  AND  TRAVELLERS 

I 

The  presence  of  Italians  in  England  was  by  no  means 
unusual,  even  before  the  conquest.  The  many  ties  with 
Rome  caused  papal  legates  and  collectors,  who  were 
almost  invariably  Italians,  to  cross  the  channel  fre- 
quently. Moreover  they  were  often  granted  English 
benefices.  Five  successive  bishops  of  Worcester  were 
Italians,  and  Bishop  Grosseteste,  about  the  year  1250, 
refused  to  admit  an  Italian  ignorant  of  English  to  a 
living  in  his  diocese.1  Cardinal  Gualli,  a little  earlier, 
conferred  Chesterton  Rectory  to  the  monastery  of  St. 
Andrews,  which  he  had  founded  at  Vercelli.2  Italians 
likewise  were  found  at  Oxford  from  time  to  time.  In 
the  twelfth  century,  a certain  Vicario  had  been  called 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  introduce  the 

1 Vide  Calendars  of  entries  in  Papal  Registers,  Bliss  Series; 
the  Marini  Vatican  Transcripts  (Brit.  Mus.  Mss.  Dept.);  Steven- 
son and  Bliss,  Roman  Transcripts,  Record  Office,  London; 
J.  Paton,  British  History  and  Papal  Claims,  for  accounts  of 
the  relations  existing  in  the  Middle  Ages  between  England 
and  the  papacy. 

2 Beckynton,  II,  344.  It  was  probably  in  this  way  that  the 
Anglo-Saxon  Vercelli  Book  found  its  way  there. 

179 


l80  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


new  study  of  Roman  law  in  the  university,1  and  a little 
later,  Francesco  d’  Accorso,  a lecturer  in  civil  law  at 
Bologna,  who  had  attached  himself  to  Edward  the 
First,  and  became  his  counsellor,  also  settled  at  Oxford. 
It  has  even  been  thought  by  some  that  Dante  studied 
theology  there.  Strangers  from  foreign  lands  were 
often  drawn  to  Oxford  during  the  period  when  it 
was  one  of  the  great  centres  of  mediaeval  learning. 
Specific  reference  was  made  to  its  Italian  students 
in  a letter  of  1454,  addressed  to  the  Earl  of  Salis- 
bury, chancellor  of  the  university,  complaining  of  the 
foreign  students  who  came  over  during  Lent,  ostensibly 
to  preach  and  shrive  penitents,  but  in  reality  to  receive 
the  alms  intended  for  such  Italians  as  were  regular 
students  “ to  the  injury  of  these  last  mentioned  and 
discredit  of  our  university.” 2 

In  addition  to  the  Italian  scholars  sent  for  by  Duke 
Humphrey,  several  others  of  distinction  came,  likewise, 
on  different  occasions.  Poggio,  for  instance,  searched 
English  monasteries  for  rare  manuscripts,  but  found 
nothing  of  interest.  “ Most  of  their  libraries  are  full  of 
foolishness,”  he  wrote  in  disgust.3  Although  profoundly 
dissatisfied  by  his  stay  in  London  among  the“Sarma- 
tians  and  Scythians,”  and  accusing  the  English  of  caring 
little  for  letters,4  he  formed,  nevertheless,  enduring 
friendships  with  several  Englishmen,  with  whom  he 
afterwards  corresponded.  Hiineas  Sylvius,  whose  visit 
to  England  was  not  dictated  by  the  same  motives,  pre- 

1 Tiraboschi,  Storia  della  Letteratura  Italiana,  III,  442. 

2 Epist.  Acad.,  I,  322.  3 Epist.,  I,  70.  4 Ibid.,  I,  43,  74. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


1 8 1 


served  pleasanter  remembrances  of  his  stay  there  and 
of  the  learned  men  he  met.  One  of  Guarino’s  former 
pupils,  the  Venetian,  Piero  del  Monte,  who  had  first 
come  over  as  papal  collector,  made  friends  with  Duke 
Humphrey,  and  later  dedicated  to  him  his  philosophi- 
cal dramas.1  It  is  only  natural  to  suppose  that  the 
love  of  letters,  then  universal  in  Italy,  caused  Italian 
churchmen  abroad  to  stimulate  the  latent  zeal  for 
learning  they  saw  everywhere  about  them. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  a number 
of  Italians  were  occupying  important  positions  in 
England.  One  of  the  most  learned  of  these,  Giovanni 
Gigli,  better  known  as  John  of  Sighs,  had  first  been 
sent  to  England  as  papal  collector;  he  was  subse- 
quently made  Canon  of  Wells,  and  still  later  Bishop 
of  Worcester.  He  was  in  the  service  of  both  the  Vati- 
can and  the  king,  being  successively  commissioner  of 
papal  indulgences,  and  Henry  the  Seventh’s  diplo- 
matic agent  and  orator  at  Rome.  He  showed  there 
his  friendship  for  Oxford,  when  the  authorities  requested 
his  aid  in  obtaining  certain  favors  from  the  Pope.  He 
had  not  forgotten,  he  said  in  his  reply,  that  he  was  a 
member  of  the  university,  although  an  unworthy  one.2 
Giovanni  Gigli  was  a poet,  as  well,  and  on  the  occasion 
of  Henry’s  marriage  to  Elizabeth  of  York,  he  composed 
a Latin  epithalamium  in  the  Virgilian  style,  in  which 
Parliament  was  represented  as  entreating  Henry  to 
marry  in  order  to  ward  off  the  evils  of  a civil  war. 

Peter  Carmeliano,  of  Brescia,  was  another  Italian 
1 Voigt,  II,  257.  2 Epist.  Acad.,  II,  564,  567. 


1 82  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

poet  of  this  period,  in  England.  His  earliest  work,  on 
the  life  of  St.  Mary  the  Egyptian,  had  praised  Richard 
the  Third  as  a model  king  and  pattern  of  virtue ; but 
little  more  than  a year  after  his  death,  in  a poem 
which  celebrated  Prince  Arthur’s  birth,  he  denounced 
him  as  a bloodthirsty  monster  ready  to  commit  any 
crime.  After  describing  his  defeat,  and  the  accession 
of  Henry  to  the  throne,  he  bade  Englishmen  rejoice 
over  the  birth  of  a royal  heir.  This  poem  was  written 
in  hexameters,  in  imitation  of  Virgil.  Carmeliano,  who 
was  a kind  of  court  poet,  wrote  considerable  verse  of 
different  kinds.  He  was  also  Latin  secretary  to  Henry 
the  Seventh  and  one  of  the  king’s  chaplains.  As  a 
reward  for  his  services  various  pensions  were  granted 
him.1  Later,  his  poetic  functions  seem  to  have  been 
dispensed  with.  He  became  lute  player  to  Henry  the 
Eighth,  but  wrote  one  last  poem  on  the  death  of  the 
Scottish  king  at  Flodden  Field.  His  verse  was  not  very 
successful,  while  his  false  quantities  furnished  amuse- 
ment for  Erasmus.  , It  is  noteworthy,  however,  that  of 
the  very  few  contemporary  narratives  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  the  Seventh,  three  should  have  been  written  by 
Italians,  and  a fourth  writer,  Johannes  Opicius,  was 
probably  likewise  of  Italian  origin.  It  is  also  remark- 
able that  the  Latin  secretaries  of  the  king,  Carmeliano, 
and  then  Ammonio  and  Peter  Vannes,  should  all  have 
been  Italians,  as  if  to  prove  that  polished  Latin  could 
then  properly  be  written  by  no  one  else. 

1 Campbell,  History  of  Henry  VII,  II,  244,  289;  J.  Gairdner, 
Memorials  of  Henry  VII. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


183 


Several  other  Italian  churchmen  who  were  more 
or  less  connected  with  the  English  court  during  this 
period  were  likewise  interested  in  the  growth  of 
humanism.  It  can  scarcely  be  supposed  that  it  was 
chance  which  led  the  shrewd,  calculating  nature  of 
Henry  the  Seventh  to  cultivate  their  friendship,  as  he 
did  in  many  instances.  It  was  rather  that  he  found 
his  own  ideas  reflected  in  them,  and  was  able  to  make 
use  of  their  services  and  intelligence.  Silvestro  Gigli, 
who  had  been  trained  by  his  uncle  in  diplomacy,  and 
succeeded  him  in  the  bishopric  of  Worcester,  was 
appointed  by  the  king  his  master  of  ceremonies,1  and 
later  resident  ambassador  at  Rome.  In  after  years  he 
became  Wolsey’s  chief  diplomatic  agent  there,  and 
was  in  constant  correspondence  with  the  king  and  car- 
dinal. Like  most  other  Italians  of  that  age,  he  was  a 
man  of  letters  as  well,  corresponding  with  Erasmus. 
The  example  offered  to  English  churchmen  of  Italian 
dignitaries  who  were  patrons  of  the  new  learning  and 
interested  in  humanism,  might  well  have  led  them 
on  in  a similar  direction,  had  such  encouragement 
been  necessary. 

Adrian  de  Castello  belonged  also  to  the  same  group. 
After  having  been  papal  nuncio  to  Scotland,  he  had 
been  sent  by  Pope  Innocent  as  collector  of  Peter’s 
pence  in  England.  He  became,  however,  an  English 
citizen,  and  was  employed  by  Henry  the  Seventh  as 
his  agent  in  Rome,  and  still  later  as  ambassador  to 
Alexander  the  Sixth,  who  conferred  on  him  an  English 

1 Bernard  Andre,  Annales  Henrici  VII , pp.  86,  1 22-1 23. 


184  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


bishopric.  He  was  also  a man  of  the  most  cultivated 
tastes,  and  the  author  of  a Latin  poem  published  by 
Aldus. 

By  far  the  most  interesting,  however,  of  the  Italian 
friends  of  Henry  was  Polydore  Vergil,  the  historian. 
He  was  already  an  author  of  some  reputation 1 when 
appointed  papal  sub-collector.  In  England  he  found 
his  brother,  who  was  there  as  a merchant,  and  his  friend, 
Adrian  de  Gastello.  Although  he  himself  was  later  to 
receive  ecclesiastical  preferment,  and  to  hold  several 
lucrative  benefices  in  the  church,  his  life  was  spent 
chiefly  in  literary  and  historical  writing. 

Having  found,  as  he  alleged,  the  English  annals  con- 
fused and  unknown,  even  to  natives,  he  had  deter- 
mined to  write  a short  history  of  the  country.  The 
historical  method  of  this  work,  compiled,  it  is  said,  at 
the  request  of  Henry  himself,  was  far  in  advance  of 
anything  England  had  known  till  then.  In  spite  of 
many  errors  and  prejudices,  it  was  nevertheless  the 
first  history  written  along  modern  lines  in  which  any 
attempt  was  made  to  weigh  authorities.  Its  author, 
moreover,  was  a friend  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  in  com- 
plete sympathy  with  his  task,  and  one  who  realized  the 
rapid  changes  which  had  come  over  England,  and 
marked  the  transition  between  the  vanishing  Middle 
Ages  and  the  Renaissance  now  dawning  on  the  land. 
It  was  a pity  for  his  reputation  that  Polydore  Vergil 
did  not  die  before  his  friend  and  patron.  Although  he 

1 His  De  Inventoribus  Rerum  passed  through  1 10  editions 
and  was  translated  into  English. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


185 


returned  to  Italy  after  his  death,  he  came  back  once 
more  to  be  Adrian  de  Castello’s  factor  in  England. 
Both,  however,  fell  into  disgrace  on  account  of  some 
over-frank  letters  which  had  cast  reflections  on  Wolsey 
and  Henry  the  Eighth.  One  of  these,  containing  im- 
putations against  both  Pope  and  king,  was  intercepted, 
probably  by  Adrian’s  enemy,  Silvestro  Gigli,  the  Bishop 
of  Worcester,  who  sent  it  to  Andrea  Ammonio,  Poly- 
dore’s  rival.  It  was  shown  to  Wolsey,  and  a few  days 
later  Vergil  was  a prisoner  in  the  Tower,  with  his  col- 
lectorship  forfeited.1  In  his  captivity  he  addressed  the 
most  servile  letters  to  Wolsey,  stating  he  would  like  to 
bow  in  worship  before  him,  in  order  that  his  spirit  might 
rejoice  in  him  “ as  in  God  my  Saviour.”  He  was  released 
in  1516,  and  took  his  revenge,  when  out  of  Wolsey’s 
reach,  by  abusing  him  in  his  history  of  England. 

Henry  the  Eighth,  who  succeeded  his  father,  like- 
wise welcomed  many  Italians  at  the  court.  “ He  is 
glad  to  see  them,  and  especially  Italians,”  wrote 
Savorgnano.2  Ammonio,  who  had  come  to  England  as 
the  papal  collector,  was  appointed  his  Latin  secretary. 
Ammonio  had  enjoyed  a reputation  for  classical  schol- 
arship, even  in  Rome,  and  in  later  years  he  was  known 
for  his  Latin  verse.  Like  Polydore  Vergil,  he  was  also 
a friend  of  Erasmus,  to  whom  he  confided  occasional 
grievances  regarding  the  barbarism  of  the  “inhospita- 
ble Britons.”3  He  was  a friend,  however,  of  Linacre, 

1 Brewer,  Henry  VIII,  I,  264  et  seq. 

2 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  IV,  287. 

3 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Foreign  and  Domestic,  Henry  VIII,  I,  No.  1948. 


1 86  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

Colet  and  More,  and  formed  part  of  their  small  cote- 
rie in  London.  When  afterwards  he  was  appointed 
papal  nuncio  at  the  English  court,  he  was  succeeded 
in  his  secretaryship  by  Peter  Vannes,  another  Italian. 
Vannes  himself,  who  became  Wolsey’s  secretary,  was 
with  him  on  many  of  his  missions,  and  accompanied 
Sir  Francis  Bryan  on  his  unsuccessful  embassy  to 
Rome,  when  it  was  intended  that  he  should  bribe  the 
cardinals  to  declare  the  marriage  of  Henry  the  Eighth 
with  Katherine  invalid,  and  Pope  Julius’  brief  a for- 
gery.1 Several  other  English  diplomatic  charges  were 
intrusted  to  Vannes  in  the  course  of  his  long  life. 

It  was  especially  in  the  matter  of  the  king’s  divorce 
that  Wolsey  proposed  to  employ  Italians,  not  only  as 
more  likely  to  secure  aid  at  the  Vatican,  but  also  con- 
fessedly on  the  ground  of  their  being  more  skilful 
diplomatists.  Among  his  agents,  besides  the  ones 
mentioned,  were  Ghinucci,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  Sir 
Thomas  Spinelli,  and  the  two  Casales,  John  and  Greg- 
ory, who  was  afterwards  knighted.2  By  degrees,  English 
diplomacy  was  able  to  dispense  with  the  churchmen 
sent  from  Rome,  on  whom  in  former  times  it  had 
relied  so  largely.  With  the  rapid  growth  of  inter- 
national relations  centring  around  the  Italian  apple  of 
discord  and  the  rise  of  the  Spanish  power,  a new 
set  of  men  had  been  found  necessary  in  diplomacy.  In 
part,  they  were  humble,  and  often  unknown,  like  the 

1 Vide  Pocock,  Records  of  the  Reformation,  I,  no  et  seq. 

2 Vide  Marini,  Vatican  Transcripts,  Brit.  Mus.,  Vol.  XXXVII, 
passim. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND  187 

numerous  news  agents  employed  by  Thomas  Crom- 
well, who  made  use  of  their  services,  just  as  Lord 
Burleigh  did  in  after  years.  Many  of  these  were 
Italian  merchants,  whose  natural  shrewdness,  added  to 
the  facilities  of  communication  they  enjoyed,  placed 
them  in  a peculiarly  favorable  position  for  the  rapid 
forwarding  of  information.  In  the  higher  ranks  of  Eng- 
lish diplomacy  there  were  other  Italians  as  well.  Italy 
itself  had  offered  the  first  examples  of  trained  diplomats, 
while,  moreover,  the  talented  and  pliable  nature  of  the 
Italian  of  the  Renaissance  lent  itself  readily  to  all  such 
work,  especially  if  it  had  anything  to  do  with  the  court. 

A number  of  Italians  from  time  to  time  visited  Eng- 
land, either  out  of  curiosity,  or  else  engaged  on  some 
mission.  Marco  Savorgnano,  the  celebrated  military 
engineer,  was  perhaps  an  example  of  the  first  kind ; 
Cardinal  Campeggio,  the  papal  legate  and  a protector 
of  the  new  learning,  of  the  second.  Such  missions, 
however,  were  not  exclusively  diplomatic.  Baldessare 
Castiglione,  the  finest  type  of  the  Italian  courtier, 
came  over  to  acknowledge  the  Order  of  the  Garter, 
conferred  upon  his  master,  the  Duke  of  Urbino.1  He 
himself,  as  he  wrote  his  mother,  was  anxious  to  see 
the  country,  and  looked  forward  to  the  company  of  his 
good  friend  Bishop  Gigli,  who  “ although  a Floren- 
tine [Luccan],  yet  holds  a rich  bishopric  in  England 
and  is  the  King’s  ambassador  with  the  pope.”  He 
was  accepted  by  Henry  the  Seventh  as  proxy  to  the 

1 Vide  Dennistoun,  Memoirs  of  the  Dukes  of  Urbino,  II, 
443  et  seq. 


1 88  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

duke,  and  installed  in  his  place  a Knight  of  the 
Garter.  The  king,  moreover,  showed  him  every  pos- 
sible attention,  knighted  him  personally,  and  made 
him  presents  of  horses  and  dogs,  and  a gold  chain 
bearing  the  royal  badge.1 

From  time  to  time,  during  the  sixteenth  century, 
numerous  Italians  took  up  their  residence  at  court, 
or  were  in  the  royal  service.  The  musicians,  for 
instance,  were  “ almost  all  Italians.”  2 The  same  thing 
was  largely  true  of  the  court  physicians.  Henry  the 
Eighth’s  surgeon  was  Antonio  Ciabo ; Battista  de 
Boeria  and  Fernando  de  Vittoria  were  also  his  doctors, 
with  Linacre  and  John  Chamber,  both  of  whom  had 
studied  in  Italy.  Later,  Jerome  Cardan,  the  greatest 
physician  of  his  day,  who  was  also  a friend  of  Sir  John 
Cheke’s,  was  entreated  to  give  an  opinion  on  the 
health  of  Edward  the  Sixth.  He  cast  his  horoscope 
and  predicted  a long  life,  but  in  after  years  explained 
this  by  showing  the  influences  he  had  to  submit  to, 
owing  to  the  intrigues  at  the  English  court.  Edward 
granted  him  an  audience  and  gave  him  a hundred 
scudi,  not  so  much  as  he  had  received  from  the  Scot- 
tish king.  A more  liberal  present  would  have  been 
given,  had  he  only  acknowledged  Edward’s  title  as 
king ; but  as  a prominent  Catholic,  who  intended  to 
return  to  Italy,  he  could  not  do  so.3  Cardan  recorded 
his  impressions  of  England  in  the  Dialogue  on  Death. 

1 Leitere  del  Conte  B.  Castiglione,  Letters  XIII,  XIV,  XXVII. 

2 Florio,  First  Fruites ; Ubaldini,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  43  b. 

3 Vide  Cardan’s  Vila  ; Waters,  Jerome  Cardan,  p.  132  etseq. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND  189 

He  spoke  of  the  English  imitating  the  Italians  in 
habit,  manner  and  dress  as  closely  as  they  could. 
They  also  seemed  similar  to  him  in  appearance. 
The  difference  in  speech  struck  him  chiefly,  since 
he  could  not  understand  a word  of  the  language. 
He  thought  them  Italians  gone  mad : “ The  tongue 
is  curved  upon  the  palate ; they  turn  about  their 
words  in  the  mouth,  and  make  a hissing  sound  with 
their  teeth.” 

Among  other  Italian  physicians  at  the  English 
court  was  Pietro  Maria  Adelmare,  the  father  of 
Sir  Julius  Caesar,  the  famous  judge.  He  was  the 
medical  adviser  of  both  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  from 
whom  he  received  fees  of  a hundred  pounds  for  a 
single  attendance.  Giulio  Borgarucci  also,  who  first 
attended  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  distinguished 
himself  in  his  treatment  of  plague  sufferers  by  bleed- 
ing, later  became  the  court  physician ; Elizabeth, 
moreover,  held  her  Venetian  doctor,  Caesar  Scacco,  in 
such  high  regard  that  she  even  wrote  the  doge,  re- 
questing that  his  stay  in  England  might  not  prove 
prejudicial  to  his  personal  affairs  in  Italy.1  Many 
other  Italians  at  court  enjoyed  the  protection  of  the 
Virgin  Queen.  “ Doth  she  love  Italians  ? Yes,  sir, 
very  well.  Delighteth  she  to  speak  with  them?  Yes, 
sir,  and  she  speaketh  very  eloquently,”  wrote  Florio.2 
Even  on  the  list  of  her  New  Years’  gifts  among  those 
to  whom  perfumed  gloves  or  gilt  plate  were  given  ap- 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.y  Ven.,  VII,  551. 

2 First  Fruites,  ch.  15. 


190  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

peared  such  names  as  Bassano,  Caliardi,  Lupo  and 
Ubaldini.1  Petruccio  Ubaldini  was  an  example  of  the 
better  type  of  Italian  adventurers  then  to  be  found  at 
every  European  court.  He  had  first  come  over  to 
England  in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  and  having 
obtained  government  employ,  had  served  in  the  war 
with  Scotland.  Shortly  after  this  he  wrote,  probably 
for  the  Venetian  Signory,  an  account  of  English  man- 
ners, customs  and  institutions.2  He  found  a patron  in 
the  Earl  of  Arundel,  who  presented  him  to  the  queen. 
The  rest  of  his  life  he  passed  as  one  of  the  hangers-on 
at  the  court,  engaged  in  teaching  Italian,  transcribing 
and  illuminating  manuscripts,  rhyming  and  writing,  or 
translating  historical  works.  Twice  he  exchanged  gifts 
with  the  queen,  although  never  quite  a courtier,  nor 
yet  a dependant.  He  was  one  of  the  many  Italians 
who  lived  amid  courtly  surroundings,  ready  to  turn 
hands  and  brains  to  any  account.  He  tried  to  be 
historian,  soldier,  poet  and  artist,  showing  alike  the 
many-sidedness  and  versatility  of  his  nation  and  his 
century. 

One  of  his  books,  a life  of  Charlemagne,3  was  dedi- 
cated by  Ubaldini  to  the  gentlemen  of  England  in  ap- 
preciation of  their  courtesy  toward  foreigners.  In  its 
preface  he  bade  Englishmen  rejoice,  since  Italian 

1 Add.  Ms.  Brit.  Mus.,  4827. 

2 Add.  Ms.  Brit.  Mus.,  10,169.  Several  other  transcripts 
exist  of  this  interesting  manuscript. 

3 La  Vita  di  Carlo  Magno,  da  Petruccio  Ubaldini,  Londra, 
1581. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND  191 

could  be  printed  in  England  as  well  as  in  Italy.  His 
own  book  he  proclaimed  had  been  the  first  so  printed 
“ by  the  diligence  and  effort  of  your  citizen  John  Wolfe, 
and  you  will  be  able  to  have  other  such  works  from 
day  to  day,  if  you  should  give  it  that  welcome,  that  I 
expect  you  will.”  Ubaldini’s  claim,  however,  was  not 
strictly  accurate.  In  1545  already,  a little  work  by  John 
Clerk,  on  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,1  had  been 
printed  in  London,  in  Latin,  English,  French  and 
Italian;  and  a few  years  later  an  Italian  translation 
of  a Latin  catechism  was  published,2  while  another 
curious  work  also  appeared  not  long  afterward.3 
Ubaldini’s  history  marked,  however,  a real  beginning. 
Battista  Castiglione,  the  queen’s  Italian  master,  in 
publishing  a book  by  Accontio,  which  he  dedicated 
to  her,4  stated  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  print  it, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  a young  Londoner  (John  Wolfe) 
had  just  returned  from  Italy  where  he  had  learned  the 
art,  and  was  now  able  to  print  in  Italian.  Several  books 
soon  appeared  from  his  press.  Among  these  were 
the  Pastor  Fido  of  Guarini5  and  Tasso’s  Aminta,  both 
published  at  Jacopo  Castelvetri’s  expense,  who  said  that, 
encouraged  by  friends,  he  was  having  them  printed 
in  London,  on  account  of  the  great  length  of  time 
necessary  to  obtain  them  from  Italy.  One  edition 

1 Opusculum  Plane  Divinum,  London,  1545. 

2 Catechismo per  amaestrare  i fanciulli,  Londra  (?),  1553! ?). 

8 Esposizione  di  Giovanbattisla  Agnello,  Londra,  1566. 

4 Una  F.sortazione  al  Timor  di  Dio,  Londra,  1590  (?). 

6 II  Pastor  Fido  ; A spese  di  Jacopo  Castelvetri,  Londra,  1591. 


192  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

of  the  Principe , although  bearing  the  press-mark  of 
Palermo  was  probably  also  printed  in  England,  as 
were  likewise  a number  of  Giordano  Bruno’s  works, 
which  first  saw  light  on  British  soil.1  Giordano  Bruno 
was  the  greatest  of  all  the  Italians  who  came  over 
to  England  in  the  sixteenth  century ; he  was  at  the 
court  of  Elizabeth  from  1583  to  1585,  and  came  in 
contact  with  the  best  English  minds  of  that  age.  Two  < 
of  his  dialogues  were  dedicated  by  him  to  Sir  Philip 
Sidney,  and  in  his  Supper  of  Ashes  he  gave  an  account 
of  a banquet  at  Fulke  Greville’s  house,  recording 
some  very  vivid  impressions  of  the  English  people. 
His  visit,  however,  left  only  doubtful  traces  on  contem- 
porary literature,  and  was  barely  noticed  even  by  his 
English  friends. 

II 

The  genius  of  Italy  in  the  Renaissance  found  its 
noblest  expression  in  the  fine  arts.  It  was  only  natural, 
therefore,  that  some  of  the  many  Italian  artists  in  an 
age  of  wandering  should  have  found  their  way  to  Eng- 
land. It  was  really  more  remarkable  that  none  of  the 
first  importance  were  attracted  there.  The  arts,  how- 
ever, flourished  in  Italy,  in  the  very  midst  of  internal 
disturbances.  Inducements  to  travel  were  not  great,  so 
long  as  reward  awaited  merit  at  home.  Yet  there 
were  several  Italians  of  note  at  the  emperor’s  court, 
and  Francis  the  First  gathered  round  him  such  ar- 
tists as  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Benvenuto  Cellini  and  Pri- 

1 Several  bear  other  press-marks  as  well.  Vide  Atlienaum, 
April  30,  1898. 


. — 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


193 


maticcio,  although  the  greatest  of  the  three,  accom- 
plished nothing  in  the  land  of  exile. 

Pietro  Torrigiano  was  the  best  known  of  the  Italian 
artists  who  came  to  seek  their  fortune  in  England. 
After  leading  a life  of  adventure,  and  having  been  a 
soldier  of  fortune,  he  was  persuaded  by  some  Floren- 
tine merchants  to  accompany  them  to  London.  The 
execution  of  the  royal  shrine  in  the  chapel  of  Henry 
the  Seventh  at  Westminster  was  entrusted  to  him  in 
default  of  native  workmen.  During  the  years  he  was 
engaged  on  it,  he  executed  many  things  in  marble  and 
bronze  for  the  king,  although  one  of  his  best  works 
was  the  tomb  of  Dr.  John  Young,  master  of  the  Rolls.1 
His  masterpiece,  still  preserved  at  Westminster,  was 
the  tomb  of  Lady  Margaret  of  Richmond,  which  has 
been  called  “ the  most  beautiful  and  venerable  figure 
that  the  Abbey  contains.”2  It  seems  strange,  in 
contemplating  it,  to  note  the  contrast  between  its 
Florentine  Renaissance  sculpture,  and  the  mediaeval 
architecture  of  the  cathedral.  It  is  more  particularly 
in  certain  details  that  the  Tuscan  fancifulness  and 
wealth  of  ornamentation  show  themselves  even  though 
the  lightness  of  touch  and  joyousness  of  the  school  of 
Donatello  were  wanting  in  his  chisel.  He  himself 
made  use  of  Gothic  shafts  in  the  ornament,  as  if  to 
reconcile  to  the  Renaissance  the  spirit  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  long  forgotten  in  his  native  city. 

1 Formerly  in  the  Rolls  Chapel,  now  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Record  Office,  London. 

2 Dean  Stanley,  Memorials  of  Westminster  Abbey,  p.  164. 


194  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Torrigiano’s  most  important  work,  however,  was  to 
be  the  tomb  of  Henry  the  Seventh  and  his  queen,  also 
in  the  Abbey.  The  contract  for  this  was  drawn  up  in 
1512.  He  entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  king’s 
executors,  “ to  make  and  work,  or  do  to  be  made  and 
wrought,  well,  surely,  cleanly,  workmanly,  curiously, 
and  substantially  for  the  sum  of  ^1500  sterling  . . . 
a tomb  or  sepulture  of  white  marble  and  of  black 
touchstone,  with  images,  figures,  beasts,  and  other 
things  of  copper  gilt  . . . together  with  other  diverse 
images,  epitaphs  and  other  things.  . . . [This  agreement 
to  be  entered  upon]  by  Peter  Torrysany  of  the  city  of 
Florence,  painter.” 1 The  tomb  itself,  although  dif- 
fering from  the  conventional  Florentine  type,  yet  shows 
the  Tuscan  hand,  in  the  fine  bronze  figures,  the  medal- 
lions of  the  base,  and  in  many  of  the  minor  details. 
It  is  a significant  proof  of  the  lack  of  native  talent  and 
dependence  on  Italians,  that  the  execution  of  royal 
tombs  should  have  been  intrusted  to  them.  Another 
similar  undertaking  was,  however,  to  fall  through. 
This  was  the  tomb  Henry  the  Eighth  wanted  for  him- 
self and  Queen  Katherine.  It  was  likewise  to  be  of 
white  marble  and  black  touchstone,  but  “more  greater 
by  the  fourth  part,”  than  his  father’s  and  to  cost  ^2000. 
Wolsey,  one  of  whose  ideas  it  probably  was,  had  charge 
of  the  financial  arrangements.  After  prolonged  nego- 
tiations with  the  king,  who  was  unable  to  make  up  his 
mind  to  order  it,  Torrigiano  left  in  great  temper  for 
Italy.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Rinaldo  de  Ricasoli, 
1 Cited  in  Archeologia,  XVI,  84. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


195 


consul  of  the  Florentine  nation  in  London,  wrote  to 
the  signory  in  Florence,  requesting  them  to  see  to  it 
that  he  should  get  none  of  the  money  deposited  by  the 
king  for  the  altar,  since  he  had  left  England  without 
his  Majesty’s  permission  and  under  dishonorable  cir- 
cumstances, perhaps  to  the  detriment  of  the  Floren- 
tine colony.1  He  returned  to  England,  however,  in 
1519,  possibly  at  the  instance  of  the  signory.  It  is 
significant  of  the  manner  in  which  artistic  work  was 
then  conducted,  that  before  his  return  he  entered  into 
an  agreement  with  Antonio  de  Lorenzo,  Antonio  called 
Toto  del  Nunziata,  a painter,  and  later  with  Giovanni 
Luigi  da  Verona,  who  bound  themselves  to  work  with 
him  for  four  and  a half  years  and  to  practise  their  arts 
in  Italy,  France,  Flanders,  England  and  Germany,  or 
in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  for  a salary  of  three 
gold  florins  a month  the  first  year,  and  forty  ducats 
thereafter  a year  besides  the  cost  of  food,  lodgings,  and 
horse  hire.2  He  himself  told  Benvenuto  Cellini,  whom 
he  wanted  to  engage,  that  the  king  of  England  had 
intrusted  him  with  a great  undertaking,  and  he  had  in 
consequence  gone  to  Florence  to  procure  the  aid 
of  as  many  young  men  as  possible.  On  his  return 
to  London  he  and  his  assistants  completed  the  altar,3 
for  which  the  king  had  previously  advanced  a thou- 

1 Cited  in  Milanesi’s  Vasari,  IV,  262  note. 

2 Ibid. 

8 Like  so  many  other  works  of  art,  it  was  destroyed  during 
the  civil  wars.  Three  pieces  of  it  were,  however,  preserved,  and 
have  been  set  up  as  an  altar  by  Dean  Stanley. 


196  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

sand  pounds.  Torrigiano’s  irascible  temperament  did 
not  long  permit  him  to  enjoy  quiet  among  “ those 
beasts  the  English  ” as  he  was  wont  to  call  them,  and 
he  left  for  Spain,  where  some  of  his  best  works  are 
still  preserved. 

Other  Italian  artists  also  came  over  to  seek  service 
under  a monarch  whose  overflowing  coffers  seemed  to 
promise  reward  to  all  alike.  Guido  Mazzoni  of  Modena, 
whose  sobriquet  of  Paganino  was  later  anglicized  into 
that  of  Pageny,  had  previously  followed  Charles  the 
Eighth  to  Paris,  and  then  crossed  over  to  England 
where  he  designed  a tomb  for  Henry  the  Seventh, 
which  was,  however,  rejected. 

Among  the  painters  employed  by  Henry  the  Eighth 
were  Vincent  Volpe,  Anthony  Toto,  Antonio  Cavallari, 
Bartholomew  Penni,  and  even  a woman  miniaturist, 
Alice  Carmellian,  a relative  probably  of  Carmeliano, 
the  court  poet.1  Little  is  known  of  Vincent  Volpe, 
save  that  in  1514  he  painted  the  streamers  and  ban- 
ners for  the  great  ship  Henry  Grace  a Dieu.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  among  the  causes  which  make  the 
presence  of  foreigners  in  England  often  difficult  to 
detect,  that  he  anglicized  his  name  to  Fox. 

Antonio  Toto,  likewise  an  architect  and  designer 
of  masques,  was  considered  the  best  of  the  Italian 
painters  in  England.  He  had  studied  under  the 
younger  Ghirlandajo,  and  had  then  been  engaged 
by  Torrigiano  to  accompany  him  to  England,  where 
he  entered  the  royal  service  as  “Sergeant  painter,” 
1 Archeologia,  XXXIX,  22. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


197 


his  name  being  usually  associated  with  that  of  Bartholo- 
mew Penni,  another  Florentine.  The  Italian  frescoes 
in  one  of  the  rooms  of  Cardinal  Wolsey’s  apartment 
at  Hampton  Court  are  almost  certainly  the  work  of 
either  Penni  or  Toto.  The  latter,  who  was  naturalized 
an  Englishman,  remained  long  in  the  service ’of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  and,  according  to  Vasari,  executed  many 
works  for  the  king.  It  is  remarkable  that  most  of  the 
Italian  artists  were  in  some  way  connected  with 
Wolsey,  whose  orders  were  usually  given  in  the  name 
of  the  king  and  who,  amid  the  duties  of  state,  found 
time  for  the  encouragement  of  art  and  learning. 
Torrigiano’s  real  successors  in  England  were  Benedetto 
da  Rovezzano  and  Giovanni  da  Majano.  The  former 
was  engaged  by  Wolsey  through  Cromwell,  to  prepare 
his  tomb.  It  was  to  be  on  a magnificent  scale,  worthy 
of  the  tastes  of  a cardinal  who  was  such  a lover  of 
art,  and  far  to  surpass  in  splendor  that  of  Henry  the 
Seventh. 1 The  sculptor  labored  over  it  for  five  years. 
But  when  Wolsey  died  in  disgrace  and  was  buried  in 
the  Abbey  Church  at  Leicester,  the  king  tried  to  make 
use  of  as  much  of  the  tomb  as  he  could,  although 
according  to  Vasari,  Baccio  Bandinelli  had  prepared  a 
beautiful  model  in  wood,  with  wax  figures,  which  was  in- 
tended for  him.  Rovezzano,  however,  was  left  in  charge 
of  the  royal  monument,  and  cast  it  in  metal.  Among 
the  founders  he  employed  were  several  other  Italians, 
Pietro  Baldi,  Giovanni  Utrin,  and  two  “ engineers,” 
Rinieri  and  Ambrogio.  The  monument,  which  Wolsey 
1 Vide  Arch.  Journal,  September,  1894,  pp.  I,  59,  203  et  seq. 


ig8  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


had  begun  was  left  unfinished  at  the  king’s  death,  in 
the  Lady  Chapel  of  Henry  the  Seventh  at  Windsor, 
and  was  never  completed.  Its  subsequent  history  is 
not  without  interest.  Charles  the  First,  another  lover 
of  art,  wished  to  be  buried  in  it,  but  after  his  execu- 
tion Parliament  ordered  the  sale  of  all  the  bronze 
work  on  the  monument.  In  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century,  the  marble  sarcophagus  was  removed  from 
Windsor  to  be  used  for  Nelson’s  tomb,  in  the  crypt  of 
St.  Pauls,  and  a little  later  the  pavement  it  had  rested 
on  was  taken  up  to  build  the  royal  vault  for  George 
the  Third.1 

The  materials  for  the  history  of  the  Florentine 
sculptors  in  England  during  this  period,  are  not  very 
plentiful.2  When  all  but  the  greatest  artists  were  con- 
sidered craftsmen,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  that 
not  much  attention  was  given  to  the  lives  of  the  others. 
It  can  be  said,  however,  that  there  was  nothing  un- 
usual in  the  presence  of  Italian  artists  in  England  ; 
the  Bernardis  for  instance,  settled  at  Chichester  in 
1519,  at  the  invitation  of  Bishop  Sherburne,  and  were 
probably  the  earliest  decorative  painters  in  England.3 * * * * 8 
Only  very  little  is  really  known  of  the  English  residence 

1 Blomfield,  Renaissance  Architecture , I,  13  et  seq. 

2 Letters  of  Torrigiano,  Rovezzano  and  Majano  to  Wolsey, 

the  records  of  payments  and  inventories  showing  the  work 

executed  on  Wolsey’s  tomb,  and  the  accounts  and  records  of 

the  work  done  on  Henry  the  Eighth’s  tomb  from  1530  to  1536 

are  cited  by  Mr.  Higgins,  in  his  valuable  article  in  the  Arch. 

Journal,  September,  1894. 

8 Digby  Wyatt,  Foreign  Artists  in  England,  p.  227. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


199 


of  the  sculptor  Nicholas  of  Modena,  who  executed 
the  royal  effigy  at  the  funeral  of  Henry  the  Eighth; 
likewise  of  John  of  Padua,  who  was  both  a musician 
and  the  “Devizor  of  his  Majesty’s  buildings,”  entering 
afterward  the  service  of  the  Protector  Somerset,  whose 
palace  on  the  Strand  he  very  likely  built ; 1 or  of 
Jerome  of  Treviso,  an  imitator  of  Raphael,2  who  was 
architect,  military  engineer  ( m agister  tormentorum) 
and  a favorite  of  Henry  the  Eighth.  Their  very 
names  prove,  however,  that  the  great  art  of  Italy  had 
crossed  the  Alps  to  find  new  homes  in  distant  lands. 

The  work  of  another  Tuscan  sculptor,  Giovanni  da 
Majano,3  who  assisted  Rovezzano  in  the  decoration  of 
Hampton  Court,  can  be  seen  there  in  the  well-known 
terra-cotta  roundels  of  Roman  emperors.4  The  tal- 
ents of  the  Italian  artists  were  especially  required  in 
decoration,  where  their  influence  in  England  was  then 
chiefly  felt.  In  all  matters  of  detail,  ornamentation 
of  surfaces,  delicate  arabesques,  plaster  modelling, 
terra-cotta  medallions,  and  carving  of  every  kind,  they 
excelled.  The  German  traveller,  Braun,  who  was  al- 
most a contemporary,  spoke  of  the  numerous  Italian 
artificers,  sculptors,  and  architects  in  the  service  of 
Henry  the  Eighth.  The  royal  palace  of  Nonesuch, 

1 Digby  Wyatt,  op.  cit.,  p.  234. 

2 A picture  by  him  representing  the  Madonna  and  the  Child 
with  saints  and  angels  is  in  the  National  Gallery,  London. 

3 Often  called  John  de  Menns,  or  Demyans;  Rovezzano’s 
name  was  similarly  anglicized  into  Rovesham  or  Rovesanne. 

4 For  the  terra-cotta  busts  he  received  the  sum  of  £2  6s.  8 d., 
and  for  three  “ histories  of  Hercules,”  £a,  apiece. 


200  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


the  greatest  building  of  that  age  in  England,  which 
was  probably  designed  by  Toto,  contained  numerous 
statues  in  plaster,  and  life-size  reliefs  representing  the 
stories  of  pagan  gods,  said  by  Evelyn  to  have  been  the 
work  of  some  celebrated  Italian.  Camden  the  anti- 
quary also  praised  its  splendor,  and  described  the 
statuary  as  rivalling  the  monuments  of  ancient  Rome. 

The  direct  influence  of  Italy  in  the  arts,  or  rathei 
the  work  of  Italians  in  England  at  this  time,  was 
largely  confined  to  the  southeastern  counties,  espe- 
cially around  Southampton  and  Winchester,  where 
there  were  settlements  of  Italians.  It  was  chiefly  the 
product  of  small  wandering  handicraftsmen,  who  often 
carved  their  arabesques  on  the  plain  surfaces  left  by 
English  masons.  Another  evidence  of  Italian  influ- 
ence can  be  seen  in  the  use  of  terra-cotta,  and  plaster 
work  in  ceilings  and  friezes,  of  common  occurrence 
toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Although 
local  tradition  has  usually  assigned  this  to  travelling 
companies  of  Italians,  it  was  more  likely  inspired  by 
the  work  of  the  Tuscan  sculptors  of  the  time  of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  from  whom  many  Englishmen  learned  the 
new  style.1  Italian  workmen,  however,  were  probably 
employed  at  times,  as,  for  instance,  on  the  wooden 
screens  and  stalls  in  the  chapel  of  King’s  College, 
Cambridge,  where  the  mouldings  show  plainly  the 
Renaissance  design  in  all  its  beauty. 

The  Italian  artists  who  centred  around  Wolsey  and 

1 Blomfield,  op.  cit.,  I,  23,  mentions  Richard  Ridge’s  work 
at  Hampton  Court  as  an  example  of  this. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


201 


Henry  the  Eighth  disappeared  as  silently  as  they 
came.  Excepting  John  of  Padua,  none  seem  to  have 
remained  in  England  after  the  king’s  death.  The 
English  lack  of  artistic  interest  and  talent  caused 
their  places  to  remain  unfilled,  even  though  certain 
individuals  were  trying  to  encourage  art.  The  first 
Earl  of  Bedford,  who  had  been  in  Italy,  was  probably 
among  its  patrons.  His  tomb,  dating  from  1556,  in 
the  Russel  Chapel  at  Chenies,  is  quite  in  the  northern 
Italian  style,  bearing  considerable  resemblance  to  the 
Sforza  monument  by  Solari  at  Pavia.  The  ideal  treat- 
ment of  the  eyes,  hair  and  beard  all  suggest  a knowl- 
edge of  the  antique,  unshared  by  any  Englishmen  of 
the  time ; the  arabesque  decoration  of  the  cushion 
on  which  Lady  Bedford’s  head  rests  is  also  character- 
istically Italian.  The  work  on  the  base,  which  is  of 
alabaster  incrusted  with  black  marble,  may  have  been 
partly  the  labor  of  native  artisans,  but  the  statues  them- 
selves appear  undoubtedly  to  be  the  work  of  an  Ital- 
ian, or  at  least  of  some  thoroughly  Italianated  Fleming. 

The  indirect  influence  of  the  Italian  artists  in  Eng- 
land proved  of  considerable  importance.  The  example 
they  set,  their  technical  skill  and  ingenuity,  the  novelty 
of  their  designs  and  forms,  must  have  come  like  a 
revelation  to  English  craftsmen.  The  ancient  Gothic 
architecture  had  degenerated,  and  the  flamboyant  style 
could  not  successfully  oppose  the  Renaissance  art 
with  its  new  method  of  decoration.  At  the  same 
time,  the  true  Italian  influence  on  English  architecture 
was  not  to  be  felt  for  some  time.  Of  exact  copying 


202  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

from  Italian  buildings  there  was  little  or  none.  The 
Italian  style  was  considerably  modified  by  transmission 
through  different  lands,  especially  France  and  the 
Low  Countries.  When  it  once  obtained  a foothold  in 
England,  thousands  of  native  artisans  transformed  it  still 
further,  until  its  original  form  could  scarcely  be  recog- 
nized.1 In  the  earlier  buildings,  however,  numerous 
Italian  traces  can  still  be  observed.  Not  only  at  Hamp- 
ton Court,  but  at  Sutton  Place,  Surrey,  Layer  Marney 
in  Essex,  Guildford,  East  Barsham  and  many  other 
localities,  there  was  considerable  use  made  of  terra- 
cotta for  decorative  purposes.  At  Sutton  Place,  for 
instance,  it  was  utilized  in  the  amorini  above  the  hall 
door.  The  arabesque  work  in  the  mullions  and  the 
small  mouldings  were  all  of  Italian  design.2 

There  were  no  regular  architects  in  England  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  work  was  done  by  so-called 
“ surveyors,”  who  as  a rule  were  English.  Sometimes, 
as  in  the  building  of  Wollaton  Hall,  master  workmen 
were  sent  for  from  Italy.  Most  of  the  stone  figures 
adorning  the  house  were  likewise  Italian.  Even  the 
pilasters  had  gondola  rings  on  their  pedestals,  which 
were  copied  from  Venice.  The  circular  panels  con- 
tained busts  of  classic  personages.  Many  of  the  niches 
are,  however,  empty,  tradition  ascribing  the  reason  to 
the  wrecking  of  the  ship  which  was  bringing  their 
occupants  from  Italy.3 

1 J.  Alfred  Gotch,  Arch,  of  the  Ren.,  I,  xxii. 

2 F.  Harrison,  Annals  of  an  Old  Manor  House,  p.  126. 

3 Gotch,  op.  cit.,  II,  62. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


203 


In  numerous  other  buildings  of  the  Elizabethan 
Age,  the  Italian  influence  was  strongly  marked  ; Audley 
End  showed  it.  Moreton  Corbet,  built  in  1599,  gave 
the  effect  of  a palazzo.  Longford  Castle,  constructed 
a year  later,  with  its  use  of  pilasters  and  columns,  its 
open  loggia  effect  and  niches  for  statues,  was  quite  in 
the  Italian  style.  At  Lyveden,  the  cornice  of  the 
new  building  was  brought  over  from  Italy.  At  Hat- 
field there  was  also  use  of  fresco  work,  and  of  Italian 
columns  and  pilasters,  and  at  Hardwick  Hall  an 
Italian  portico.1  When  the  queen  went  to  Greenwich 
in  1583,  Roger  Manners  wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Rutland 
that  “ she  was  never  in  any  place  better  pleased,  and 
sure  the  house,  garden,  and  walks  may  compare  with 
any  delicate  place  in  Italy.” 2 Gardens  especially  were 
imitated  from  the  Italians. 

The  improvement  in  English  architecture  had 
not  taken  place  over  night.  In  1550,  John  Shute, 
who,  besides  being  a painter  and  miniaturist,  was 
later  to  write  one  of  the  earliest  English  treatises 
on  architecture,  had  been  sent  to  Italy  by  the  Duke 
of  Northumberland  to  study  there  under  the  best 
architects.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  seventeenth 
century  that,  with  Inigo  Jones,  the  classic  style  of 
Palladio  found  a new  home  in  England  ; but  his  years 
of  study  had  been  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  “ Being 

1 Vide  J.  A.  Gotch,  Early  Renaissance  Architecture  in  Eng- 
land and  Architecture  of  the  Renaissance  in  England,  for  accounts 
of  the  subject. 

2 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Report  12,  Appendix  IV,  p.  150. 


204  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

naturally  inclined,”  he  wrote,  “to  study  the  arts  of 
design,  I passed  into  foreign  parts  to  converse  with 
the  great  masters  thereof  in  Italy.”  The  instruction 
he  received  was  to  bear  its  fruits  in  the  time  of  James, 
but  it  would  scarcely  have  been  possible  without  the 
work  of  the  Italians  in  England,  in  the  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  who  prepared  and  smoothed 
the  way,  bridging  over  the  transition  between  the 
Gothic  and  the  new  style  of  the  Renaissance. 

Hardly  a single  Italian  artist  of  consequence  came  to 
England  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth;  the  few  who  did 
come  were  all  of  minor  importance.  Valerio  Belli,  it  is 
true,  the  celebrated  engraver  of  gems,  is  supposed  to 
have  visited  England  and  to  have  carved  many  portraits 
in  cameo,1  but  even  this  is  doubtful.  The  processes  em- 
ployed in  the  medallic  art  came,  however,  from  Italy.2 
The  first  medallic  portrait  of  an  Englishman  was  made 
in  Venice  in  1480.  Although  considerably  later  the 
art  was  transplanted  to  England,  it  is  very  unlikely 
that  either  Jacopo  Trezzo  or  Primavera,  who  executed 
the  portraits  of  Mary,  and  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  ever 
set  foot  on  English  soil.3  A great  number  of  paintings 
of  all  kinds,  few  of  which  have  been  authenticated, 
are  ascribed  to  Frederick  Zuccaro,  who  in  his  four 
years’  residence  in  England  painted  Elizabeth  and  a 
number  of  her  courtiers.  His  merit  as  an  artist  was 

1 Horace  Walpole,  Anecdotes  of  Painting,  p.  188. 

2 Hawkins  and  Franks,  Medallic  Illustrations  of  English 
History , p.  xii. 

3 Ibid.,  p.  71. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


205 


very  slight,  and  it  is  scarcely  remarkable  that  his  influ- 
ence was  not  more  strongly  felt.  Petruccio  Ubaldini, 
who  has  been  mentioned  before,  was  both  an  illumina- 
tor and  painter  of  miniatures  at  the  court.  The  Eng- 
lish miniaturists,  however,  inclined  rather  to  the  French 
and  Flemish  schools,  even  where  in  other  respects  they 
felt  the  Italian  influence.  Isaac  Oliver,  for  instance, 
one  of  whose  drawings  in  the  northern  Italian  style  is 
reproduced,  was  quite  un-Italian  in  his  miniatures,  and 
the  same  was  true  of  his  master,  Nicholas  Hilliard. 

A taste  for  art  was  slowly  growing  in  England, 
though  not  much  proof  of  this  now  remains.1  Sir  Philip 
Hoby  was  counted  by  Titian  among  his  friends.  Con- 
stable also  alluded  to  Raphael  and  Michelangelo 
in  his  sonnets.2  Richard  Haydocke,  in  his  well-known 
translation  of  Lomazzo’s  Art  of  Painting , greatly  de- 
plored the  English  lack  of  artistic  feeling  and  the 
alleged  decay  of  the  arts,  the  cause  of  which  he 
ascribed  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  purchaser  would 
not  pay  well  for  the  work  of  art,  and  in  consequence 
the  artist  would  not  do  his  best.  Haydocke’s  effort 
was  to  induce  a cultivated  class  of  patrons  who  might 
encourage  art.  From  his  words  it  is  evident  that  the 
English  were  then  beginning  to  appreciate  painting. 
Previously  there  had  been  but  few  illustrations  of  this. 
In  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  it  is  true,  the 
Duke  of  Urbino  had  sent  over  as  a gift  to  that  mon- 

1 For  list  of  contemporary  English  painters,  vide  Francis 
Meres,  Palladis  Tamia,  1598,  p.  287. 

2 Vide  p.  143. 


206  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


arch  a small  picture  by  Raphael 1 of  St.  George  slay- 
ing the  dragon.  Presents  of  similar  nature  were  made 
from  time  to  time.  The  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  for 
instance,  sent  Queen  Mary  a miniature  of  the  Three 
Magi.2  The  zeal  for  collecting  works  of  art,  begun  in 
Italy,  had  spread  to  England  — “ In  which  point  some 
of  our  nobility  and  divers  private  gentlemen  have  very 
well  acquitted  themselves ; as  may  appear  by  their 
galleries,  carefully  furnished  with  the  excellent  monu- 
ments of  sundry  famous  ancient  masters,  both  Italian 
and  German.” 3 Even  the  native  painters  were  appre- 
ciated ; Richard  Haydocke  desired  “ the  skilful  pen  of 
George  Vasari  ” to  draw  parallels  between  English 
painters  and  Italian,  and  compare  Nicholas  Hilliard 
“ with  the  mild  spirit  of  the  late  world’s  wonder, 
Raphael  Urbini.” 

It  is  significant  of  the  interest  which  was  beginning 
to  be  taken  in  all  works  of  art,  especially  by  such 
collectors  as  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  that  a special  in- 
voice of  bronzes  by  John  Bologna  was  not  long  after- 
ward sent  on  commission  from  Florence  to  London.4 
Inigo  Jones  himself  purchased  works  of  art,  when  in 

1 Now  at  St.  Petersburg. 

2 Guardaroba  Medicea,  Florence,  filza  34. 

3 R.  Haydocke,  preface  to  Lomazzo,  1598. 

4 Guardaroba  Medicea,  293,  p.  81.  Among  other  subjects 
were  represented  a Hercules  with  a club  in  his  hand  (perhaps 
the  one  now  in  the  print  room  of  the  Fitzwilliam  Museum, 
Cambridge),  a Hercules  killing  the  Centaur,  a woman  with  a 
ball,  a figure  of  Fortune,  a Centaur  carrying  away  Dejanira,  etc. 
In  this  consignment  there  were  also  several  wax  figures. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


20  7 


Italy,  for  the  Earl  of  Arundel  and  Lords  Pembroke 
and  Danvers.  The  history  of  the  collector’s  zeal  in 
England  rightly  belongs,  however,  to  a later  period 
than  the  age  of  Elizabeth. 

Ill 

The  Reformation  has,  until  recently,  been  regarded 
almost  as  an  exclusively  Teutonic  counterpart  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance.  As  a result  of  this,  the  ethical 
and  religious  influence  of  Italy  has  been  underrated, 
even  when  not  entirely  neglected.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  sixteenth  century  it  had  become  almost  a fashion 
for  moralists  to  see  in  Italy  only  a centre  of  vice  and 
corruption.  Partly,  perhaps,  on  account  of  the  survival 
of  this  idea,  partly  through  ignorance,  the  sterner  and 
more  austere  aspects  of  Italian  life  were  generally  over- 
looked. The  religious  enthusiasm  of  a Savonarola  lay 
covered  by  the  iniquity  of  the  Borgias.  The  great 
crimes  of  the  age,  and  not  its  virtues,  alone  struck  the 
popular  eye.  It  would,  however,  be  a very  one-sided 
estimate  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  to  regard  it  as  an  age 
when  only  the  arts  and  learning  flourished  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  depravity.  To  deny  the  excesses  committed, 
or  the  vice  of  the  age,  would  be  no  less  untrue  than 
to  blind  one’s  eyes  to  its  piety,  which  existed  then,  all 
the  brighter,  perhaps,  for  the  evil  which  surrounded 
it.  Too  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  Italian 
religious  influence  in  England,  first  noticeable  in  the 
effect  of  the  humanist  criticism  of  the  Scriptures  on 
Grocyn  and  Colet.  The  Italian  reformers  who  found 


208  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

their  way  to  England  in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth 
showed  a different  side  of  the  same  influence. 

Among  the  most  eminent  of  these  was  Bernardino 
Ochino,  a Capuchin  monk  of  Siena,  considered  to  be 
the  most  eloquent  preacher  of  his  time  in  all  Italy. 
He  had  gradually  drifted  toward  an  attitude  of  dissent 
from  Rome,  and  in  consequence  had  been  obliged 
to  seek  refuge  elsewhere.  His  love  of  truth,  it  was 
said,  led  him  to  choose  suffering  and  exile  rather  than 
wealth  and  honors.  Because  he  followed  “the  true 
gospel,”  he  had  been  persecuted  by  Paul  the  Third, 
who  forced  him  to  leave  Italy.1  In  1547  he  went  to 
England,  at  Cranmer’s  invitation.  He  received  there 
a hearty  welcome,  was  granted  a crown  pension,  and 
appointed  preacher  of  the  Italian  church  in  London. 
His  presence  in  England  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion, and  his  sermons  were  often  translated,  being  among 
the  most  popular  theological  books  of  the  time.  In 
1549,  Bishop  Ponet  translated  his  Tragedy ,2  which  had 
for  its  subject  the  rise  of  the  papacy  and  contained 
a severe  indictment  directed  against  the  Church 
of  Rome.  Ochino’s  sermons  proved  more  popular, 
however,  passing  through  several  editions.  The  first 
appeared  the  year  after  his  arrival  in  England,  and 
was  dedicated  to  the  Duke  of  Somerset.  In  the 
address  to  the  reader,  the  printer  mentioned  the 

1 Preface  to  the  Sermons  of  Ochino , 1548. 

2 The  Tragedy  by  Bernardino  Ochino,  1549.  A remarkable 
parallel  between  it  and  Paradise  Lost  has  been  pointed  out  by 
Dr.  Garnett. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


209 


translations  of  the  Scriptures,  then  beginning  to  be 
widely  known.  The  prophets  and  patriarchs,  it  was 
said,  were  now  familiar  to  all  having  “ become  English 
men.  . . . God  himself  in  our  own  tongue  speaketh 
to  us  . . . and  Paul  being  a Hebrew  born  hath  changed 
his  tongue,  and  is  become  ours,  as  though  he  had  been 
bred  and  brought  up  all  the  days  of  his  life  amongst 
us.”  In  consequence  of  the  evil  conditions  in  Eng- 
land, God  had  sent  prophets  out  of  strange  countries. 
“ Amongst  the  which,  Bernardinus  Ochinus  and  Petrus 
Martyr,  men  of  great  learning  which  are  now  come 
unto  us.”  Inasmuch  as  Ochino’s  sermons  had  been 
preached  in  Italian,  a selection  of  six  were  at  first  trans- 
lated, with  the  intention  of  publishing  the  others, 
should  the  first  meet  with  favor.  In  this  way,  it  was 
hoped,  “ his  native  tongue  thereby  may  be  made  ours.” 
The  chief  object  of  the  sermons  was  to  show  the 
benefits  of  making  proper  use  of  the  Scriptures  to 
attain  knowledge  of  the  Deity.  Their  further  popu- 
larity was  attested  by  an  enlarged  edition,  printed  not 
long  afterward  by  a different  publisher. 

Another  translation  of  Ochino’s  sermons1  by  Anne 
Cooke  was  more  interesting.  It  was  intended  to  show 
the  spiritual  side  of  the  Italians  and  prove  that  a study 
of  the  language  need  by  no  means  be  fruitless  from  the 
religious  point  of  view,  although  the  object  of  this  edi- 
tion was  to  make  Ochino’s  doctrines  accessible  to  those 
ignorant  of  Italian.  To  defend  the  book  seemed, 
however,  unnecessary  to  the  translator,  since  the  author 

1 Fourteen  Sermons  of  Barnadine  Ochyne  (1550  ?). 


210  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

lived  in  England  — “A  man  whose  life  without  words 
would  be  sufficient  protection  to  his  work.”  As  late, 
indeed,  as  1580  a new  edition  appeared  of  Ochino’s 
sermons1  which  praised  the  spiritual  wisdom  of  the 
author  and  the  “pure  and  perfect  godliness  of  his 
works.” 

Peter  Martyr  Vermigli,  the  friend  and  contemporary 
of  Ochino,  was  born  in  Florence,  where  his  father  had 
been  a follower  of  Savonarola.  He  himself  had  studied 
for  eight  years  at  Padua,  and  came  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Spanish  reformer,  Juan  de  Valdes.  In 
1547,  with  Ochino,  he  had  been  invited  by  Cranmer 
to  come  to  England.  Together  they  were  placed  in 
the  charge  of  John  Abell,  an  English  merchant,  who 
escorted  them  from  Basle  to  London,  where  Peter 
Martyr  lived  for  some  time  with  Cranmer.  He  was 
given  a crown  pension,  was  soon  afterward  made  Regius 
professor  of  divinity  at  Oxford  and  later  appointed  to 
the  first  canonry  of  Christ  Church.  Peter  Martyr  was 
one  of  the  three  persons  whom  Cranmer  associated 
with  himself  in  revising  the  ecclesiastical  laws.  Cran- 
mer selected  him  also  to  aid  him  in  defending  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  established  under  Edward 
the  Sixth  when,  at  the  beginning  of  Mary’s  reign,  he 
challenged  the  Romanists  to  a public  disputation. 
The  two  were  on  terms  of  cordial  intimacy  and 
friendship ; the  archbishop  made  particular  use  of 
him  in  the  different  steps  of  the  Reformation,  and 

1 Certain  Godly  Sermons , translated  by  William  Phiston, 
1580. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


21 1 


whenever  he  could  be  spared  from  his  public  readings 
at  Oxford  would  send  for  him,1  it  was  said,  to  confer  on 
matters  of  importance. 

Peter  Martyr  was  also  a prolific  writer,  and  many  of 
his  works  were  translated  into  English.  While  few  are 
of  interest  to  the  layman,  they  yet  show  the  influence 
of  an  Italian  in  shaping  the  course  of  the  English 
Reformation.  His  Puritanism  appeared,  for  instance, 
in  his  tract  on  the  Abuse  of  Dancing,  in  which  he  proved 
its  wickedness  by  the  Scriptures.  One  of  his  many 
religious  treatises  was  translated  by  Nicholas  Udall  for 
the  benefit  of  such  curates  and  other  good  people  “ who 
in  default  of  sufficient  learning  are  unable  thoroughly 
to  instruct  their  flocks,  nor  to  stop  the  mouths  of  ma- 
licious people,  and  of  Papists.”  His  most  important 
writings,  however,  were  the  commentaries  on  the 
Scriptures ; in  his  great  book  of  Commonplaces,  later 
translated  by  Anthony  Martin,2  were  contained  his 
ideas  on  the  subject,  and  many  inquiries  on  predes- 
tination, justification  by  faith,  and  the  salvation  of  man 
through  Christ.  The  work  was  especially  praised  for 
reproving  the  errors  and  heresies  of  Rome,  and  its 
author  was  eulogized  for  having  devoted  his  life  to 
preaching  Protestantism  in  England.  To  accomplish 
this,  it  was  said,  he  had  left  his  own  wealth  and  repose. 
His  letters  were  also  published,  but  contain  little  of 
general  interest  save  his  sorrows  for  Italy,  and  com- 
plaints of  the  penury  in  England  “ of  the  word  of 

1 Strype,  Thomas  Cranmer,  I,  593. 

2 The  Commonplaces  of  Peter  Martyr,  1583. 


212  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

God.”  Like  his  other  writings,  the  letters  were  full 
of  an  intense  zeal  and  a deep  religious  enthusiasm 
not  commonly  associated  with  the  Italians  of  the 
Renaissance. 

The  religious  influence  Italy  exerted  on  Protestant 
England  was  by  no  means  confined  to  the  few  reform- 
ers who  came  over.  Even  then  a devotional  and  reli- 
gious literature  flourished  south  of  the  Alps  which  waS 
known  in  England.  Edward  Courtenay,  Earl  of 
Devon,  during  his  long  imprisonment  in  the  Tower, 
translated,  in  1548,  Aonio  Paleario’s  book  on  the 
Benefit  of  Christ's  Death}  a work  of  such  extraor- 
dinary popularity  in  the  sixteenth  century  that,  until 
condemned  by  the  Inquisition,  it  was  admired 
alike  by  pious  Catholics  and  those  who  favored  the 
Reformation. 

England  then  became  a home  and  refuge  for  Italian 
reformers,  just  as  in  the  nineteenth  century  it  was  one 
for  political  refugees.  Jacopo  Calco  was  another  Ital- 
ian theologian  who  came  over  for  religious  reasons.2 
Giulio  Terenziano,  better  known  in  England  as  Julius, 
followed  Peter  Martyr,  and  in  later  years  came  such 
men  as  Jacopo  Acontio,  author  of  Satan's  Strata- 
gems, Alessandro  Cittolini3  and  Giulio  Borgarucci, 
who,  arriving  a Protestant  refugee,  later  became  court 
physician.  Francesco  Pucci  was  also  one  whose 

1 Trattato  Utilissimo,  by  Antonio  della  Paglia,  known  as 
Aonio  Paleario.  Another  English  rendering  of  this  book  was 
made  by  Arthur  Golding  from  its  French  translation. 

2 Bale,  Scriptorium  Illuslrium,  1557,  II,  140. 

8 Vide  Roger  Ascham,  Epistola,  passim. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


213 


reforming  zeal  led  him  to  London  and  Oxford, 
where  he  delivered  a course  of  lectures  in  theology. 
Still  another  was  Pietro  Bizari  of  Perugia,  an  his- 
torian and  poet  who  described  himself  as  “ an  exile 
from  Italy  his  native  country  by  reason  of  his  con- 
fession of  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel.”  Michael 
Angelo  Florio,  a Florentine  Protestant  who  had  come 
over  to  England,  in  addition  to  being  a teacher  of 
Italian,  became,  in  1550,  preacher  to  the  congregation 
of  Italian  Protestants  in  London.  This  had  been  estab- 
lished chiefly  through  the  influence  of  Archbishop  Cran- 
mer  and  Sir  William  Cecil.  The  archbishop  obtained 
certain  privileges  for  the  members  of  the  congregation, 
who  were  to  be  treated  like  free  denizens,  and  given 
permission  to  reside  and  do  business  in  London,  with  as 
much  freedom  as  native-born  Englishmen.  The  only 
obligation  they  were  under  was  to  swear  fidelity  and 
allegiance.  Other  requests  were  granted  them  from 
time  to  time,  and  many  joined  the  church  for  worldly 
reasons.  In  spite  of  these  advantages,  quite  a few 
returned  to  the  Roman  service.  Florio  complained  of 
this  to  Cecil,  then  secretary  of  state,  who  bade  him 
prepare  a list  of  the  apostates’  names,  which  he  did. 
The  secretary  sent  for  these,  and  informed  them  that, 
since  they  were  citizens,  and  in  consequence  subject 
to  English  law,  they  ought  to  be  punished  the  same  as 
other  Englishmen  who  heard  the  mass.1  Florio,  whose 
morals  were  not  of  the  best,  subsequently  lost  the 
favor  of  Cecil,  who  had  before  been  his  friend ; 


1 Strype,  Memorials,  p.  343  et  seq. 


214  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Jerome  Zerlito  later  became  the  pastor  of  this  church. 
Its  existence  for  many  years  is  perhaps  the  best  proof 
of  the  Italian  colony  in  London.  Roger  Ascham 
alluded  to  it,  in  condemning  the  courtiers  who  went 
there  to  hear  the  language  and  not  for  the  service ; 
“ Italianated  Englishmen,”  he  called  them,1  who  were 
unable  to  abide  the  godly  Italian  church  at  home 
and  attended  it  only  to  listen  to  the  Italian  tongue 
naturally  spoken. 

The  Italian  reformers  in  England  prove  how  one- 
sided any  judgment  would  be,  which  laid  down  abso- 
lutely the  nature  of  the  Italian  influence  in  England, 
condemning  it  for  the  same  reasons  which  once  acted 
on  moralists  like  Ascham.  The  Italian  spiritual  nature, 
though  less  on  the  surface  than  its  carnal  side,  was  yet 
to  be  found  by  those  who  sought  it.  There  were 
many  besides  John  Colet  who  felt  the  Italian  influ- 
ences of  piety  and  austerity. 


IV 

The  Italians  of  the  Renaissance  were  the  first  mod- 
ern people  to  take  note  of  the  traits  and  characteristics 
of  other  nations.  Beginning  with  Poggio  and  .Eneas 
Sylvius,  they  recorded  at  length  their  impressions  of 
foreign  countries.  During  the  sixteenth  century  a 
series  of  deep  and  accurate  studies  of  national  char- 
acter was  written  by  the  Venetian  ambassadors,  one  of 
whose  duties  it  was  to  keep  their  government  posted 


1 Scholemasier,  p.  82. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


215 


on  the  condition  of  the  countries  with  whom  they  had 
diplomatic  relations.  This  had  been  the  custom  since 
the  early  years  of  the  republic.  The  Grand  Council 
decreed,  in  1268,  that  all  Venetian  ambassadors  on 
their  return  should  report  in  full  their  proceedings  to 
the  signory,  being  supplied  with  a clerk  to  write  out 
the  narrative.  By  degrees  it  became  usual  to  add 
descriptions  of  the  country  visited,  and  these  were 
often  elaborated  at  considerable  length.  The  Vene- 
tian reports  became  celebrated  as  models  of  what 
such  work  should  be,  and  copies  were  eagerly  sought 
for  in  other  countries  as  well.1 

The  Italian  accounts  of  England  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury were  of  several  different  kinds.  Without  consider- 
ing the  numerous  letters  containing  information  on 
many  subjects,  or  the  sharp  but  scattered  impressions 
which  Bruno  recorded  in  the  Supper  of  Ashes,  partial 
descriptions  of  England  can  be  found  in  such  diaries  as 
that  of  the  Milanese  merchant,  who  travelled  there  in 
15 18, 2 and  in  Jerome  Cardan’s  experiences  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  the  Sixth  ; also  in  Paolus  Jovius’  and  Bote- 
ro’s  general  histories  and  geographies. 

The  Venetian  relations,  however,  were  by  far  the 
most  important.  Although  diplomatic  intercourse,  cen- 
tring mainly  on  commercial  questions,  had  existed  for 
some  time  between  the  two  states,  yet  Andrea  Trevi- 
sani’s  embassy  to  the  English  court,  in  1497,  was  really 
the  first.  During  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Venetian 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  I,  xliii  et  seq. 

2 Add.  Ms.  24,180,  Brit.  Mus. 


2 1 6 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


ambassadors  in  England  numbered  twenty-three  in  all. 
Diplomatic  intercourse  ceased  almost  entirely  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  owing  to  the  religious  differences.1 

The  reports  of  the  different  ambassadors  have 
many  elements  in  common.  The  model  the  writers 
employed  was  the  same,  and  they  saw  things  through 
similar  eyes.  At  the  same  time  the  outward  panorama 
was  continually  changing.  For  this  reason,  while  each 
“ relation  ” serves  in  one  way  to  corroborate  the  others, 
it  adds  also  a certain  amount  of  fresh  material. 

Almost  invariably  in  the  sixteenth  century  the  first 
desire  of  any  one  who  wished  to  relate  the  experiences 
of  his  travels  was  to  preface  these  with  a general 
account  of  the  country  he  had  visited.  England  was 
still  too  remote  and  distant  a nation,  and  accurate 
knowledge  too  scarce,  for  its  physical  characteristics 
not  to  be  of  interest.  This  is  scarcely  the  place,  how- 
ever, to  dwell  on  such  matters.  The  government  of 
the  country,  the  crown  revenues,  parliament  and  judi- 
ciary can  be  passed  over  likewise,  although  naturally  of 
the  greatest  interest  to  the  signory  for  whose  benefit 
these  accounts  were  written.  It  may  briefly  be  said 
that  the  liberties  enjoyed  by  Englishmen  and  their 
freedom  from  oppressive  taxes  especially  impressed 
the  shrewd  Italian  observer. 

Although  the  English  characteristics  noticed  would 
be  too  numerous  to  mention  here,  the  general  im- 
pression derived  from  reading  these  accounts  is  one 
of  keen  and  accurate  observation.  The  religious  trans- 

1 Baschet,  Diplomatic  Venitienne,  p.  106. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


217 


formation  of  the  country  was  naturally  of  great  interest 
to  the  intelligent  foreigner,  and  one  writer,  at  least, 
described  in  detail  the  new  prayer  book  of  1549  which 
made  use  of  the  English  language,  and  the  new  church 
ceremonies  and  regulations.1  England,  especially  in 
the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  passing 
through  a period  of  transition,  and  the  numerous 
changes  of  faith  undergone  perhaps  almost  justified 
one  critic’s  remarks,  that  the  English  used  religion 
merely  as  a cloak ; that  they  believed  what  the  king 
believed,  and  if  he  were  to  turn  Mahometan  or  Jew, 
they  would  follow  suit.2 

The  great  effort  of  the  kings  of  Spain  ever  since  the 
Reformation  had  been  directed  to  bringing  England 
back  to  the  Roman  faith,  accomplishing  thereby  both 
a political  and  a religious  end.  The  military  resources 
of  England  were  consequently  a matter  of  considerable 
interest,  even  to  states  which  were  neutral.  For- 
eigners’ opinions  on  English  soldiers  varied  considera- 
bly, although  certain  of  the  traits  then  noticed  still 
continue  to  hold  true  at  the  present  day. 

One  of  the  least  favorable  of  military  critics  was  a 
certain  Giovanni  Sovico,  who  had  lived  many  years  in 
England,  and  gave  as  his  opinion  that  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  Spanish  or  Italian  infantry  and  two  thousand 
cavalry  would  be  sufficient  to  restore  the  Catholic  reli- 
gion.® Petruccio  Ubaldini,  who  had  served  in  the  Scotch 
war,  thought  it  to  be  the  general  impression  that  if  a 

1 Relazione  Ubaldini,  f.  93.  2 Relazione  Michele,  f.  22  et  seq. 

3 Arch.  Med.  Flor.,  4185,  Letter  to  Father  Panigarola. 


2 1 8 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


foreign  prince  were  only  able  to  land  an  army  on  Eng- 
lish soil,  and  win  the  first  battle,  he  would  encounter 
no  further  difficulties,  since,  owing  to  the  inability  of 
the  people  to  endure  fatigue,  and  their  nature,  they 
would  no  longer  oppose  him.  He  went  on  to  explain 
that  this  was  not  so  easy  as  it  seemed  at  first  sight. 
All  similar  attempts  since  the  Conquest  had  failed,  and 
William  only  succeeded  on  account  of  the  weakness  of 
the  opposing  army.1  Italian  critics,  generally,  agreed 
on  the  English  inability  to  withstand  fatigue,  and  their 
need  of  an  abundant  meat  diet.  Without  a great  supply 
of  food  they  were  able  to  endure  but  little  exertion.2 
“ When  war  was  raging  most  furiously,  they  would 
look  for  good  eating  and  all  their  other  comforts 
without  thinking  of  what  harm  might  befall  them.”3 
Although  they  showed  great  aptitude  for  sport,  and 
readiness  in  times  of  danger,  it  could  not  be  said  that 
they  cared  much  for  arms.  Their  only  opportunity  to 
make  use  of  them  was  in  war,  and  once  that  was  over 
they  forgot  all  about  them.4  English  soldiers  enjoyed, 
however,  a high  reputation,  and  from  the  fear  the 
French  held  them  in,  it  was  believed  to  have  been 
justly  acquired.5  The  critics  singled  out  for  especial 
praise  the  English  proficiency  in  the  use  of  the  long 
bow.6 

1 Ubaldini,  f.  83. 

2 Ibid.,  f.  112  b.  Rel.  Soranzo,  1554,  ed.  Alberi,  Pt.  II,  p.  53. 

3 Relation  of  England,  1500,  p.  22  et  seq. 

4 Soranzo,  p.  52.  6 Rel.  of  England,  loc.  cit. 

6 Rel.  Raviglio,  Ms.  Siena,  Libreria  comunale  K.,  X,  29,  f.  64, 

and  Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  IV,  285-289. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


219 


It  was  easily  recognized  that  the  natural  strength  of 
the  country  lay  in  its  insular  position.  Long  before 
the  Armada,  the  Italians  appreciated  the  fact  that  the 
strong  point  of  the  English  was  in  naval  warfare,  where 
they  succeeded  much  better  and  were  far  braver  than 
on  land.  They  placed  reliance  in  their  ships,  and, 
utterly  regardless  of  death,  performed  prodigies  of 
valor  with  them.  The  courage  of  English  sailors 
in  their  attack  was  wonderful,  wrote  another  writer. 
“ These  people  fight  to  the  death ; and  it  is  their 
habit  before  they  sail,  to  swear  to  one  another  that 
they  will  fire  the  ship  rather  than  yield  themselves 
prisoners.  So  resolute  is  this  race  in  battle.”  1 This 
courage  was  admired  in  other  respects  as  well.  It  was 
noticed  especially  that  Englishmen  had  often  been  seen 
laughing  while  on  their  way  to  the  stake  or  gibbet,  ridi- 
culing, as  it  were,  such  martyrdom.2 

To  the  foreign  diplomatist,  especially,  whose  glimpses 
of  national  life  were  largely  obtained  at  court,  the 
reigning  prince  was  always  a subject  of  great  interest. 
His  relatives  and  favorites,  his  accomplishments,  and 
even  his  most  trivial  wishes  were  all  mentioned.3  Sur- 
rounding Henry  the  Eighth,  it  was  said,  were  many 
Spaniards  and  Italians  of  every  profession,  who  in  turn 
had  a company  of  courtiers  running  after  them,  anxious 
to  learn  foreign  languages.4  The  etiquette  of  the  court, 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  IX,  239. 

2 Litolfi,  Epist.  cit..  Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  VI,  1668-73. 

3 Rel.  Falier,  1531,  ed.  Alberi,  Pt.  II,  p.  10  et  seq. 

4 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  IV,  285-289. 


220  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


and  the  continual  use  of  ceremonies  on  the  slightest 
occasion,  seemed  almost  ridiculous  to  the  Italian  ob- 
server. Whether  the  king  was  present  or  absent  there 
existed  the  same  formalities.1  It  was  the  duty  of  the 
president  of  the  royal  council,  the  highest  official  in  all 
England,  to  serve  the  sovereign  at  table.2  Ubaldini 
had  seen  the  Princess  Elizabeth  kneel  five  times 
in  succession  to  the  king,  her  father,  before  sitting 
down.  It  was  even  customary  for  the  children  of 
Henry  the  Eighth  to  address  him  on  bended  knees. 

The  daily  life  of  Edward  the  Sixth  was  similarly 
described.  Cardan,  who  saw  the  young  king  when 
still  in  his  fifteenth  year,  wrote  that  he  was  skilled 
in  seven  languages.  His  tennis,  horsemanship  and 
archery  were  noticed,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  his 
riding  and  dancing  master,  and  many  of  his  musicians, 
were  Italians.3  The  attention  of  later  travellers  centred 
naturally  on  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  was  to  become  the 
most  conspicuous  figure  of  her  age.  In  her  youth, 
report  had  it  that  she  lived  a life  of  such  splendor  as 
could  hardly  be  imagined.  Much  of  her  time  was 
occupied  by  balls  and  banquets,  hunting,  and  similar 
amusements,  all  of  which  were  conducted  with  the 
greatest  possible  display.  She  insisted,  however,  that 
far  greater  respect  be  shown  her  than  the  late  queen 
had  exacted ; and  although  she  had  summoned  Par- 
liament, she  gave  orders  that  her  commands  be  exe- 
cuted, even  if  contrary  to  its  will.4 

1 Rel.  Raviglio,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  70.  3 Ubaldini,  f.  43  b. 

2 Ibid.,  f.  64.  * Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  VII,  659. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


221 


Shortly  after  her  accession,  one  envoy  wrote  regard- 
ing the  likelihood  of  any  foreigner  ascending  the 
throne.  “ During  the  last  twenty  years  three  princes 
of  the  blood,  four  dukes,  forty  earls,  and  more  than 
three  thousand  other  persons  have  died  by  violent 
death.  It  may  therefore  be  easily  imagined  that  no 
foreigner  could  rule  this  kind  of  people,  when  even 
their  own  countrymen  are  not  safe.  . . . Queen  Eliza- 
beth, who  has  succeeded  to  the  throne  . . . declines  to 
rely  upon  any  one  save  herself,  although  she  is  most 
gracious  to  all.” 1 Her  personal  appearance  was  often 
described  as  well.  Even  in  her  seventieth  year,  it 
was  said  of  her  that  she  walked  straight  as  a rod, 
corn'  una  canna,  clad  all  in  white.2 

Next  in  interest  came  the  nobles  directly  after  the 
sovereign.  Poggio  remarked  in  his  day  that  they  con- 
sidered it  disgraceful  to  live  in  towns,  and  judged  the 
degree  of  a man’s  nobility  by  the  extent  of  his  estates. 
Their  time  was  spent  in  agriculture,  although  they  did 
not  consider  trading  in  wool  and  sheep  to  be  beneath 
their  dignity.  He  himself  had  known  a wealthy  mer- 
chant, who  having  invested  his  money  in  land  became 
the  founder  of  a noble  race  ; and  had  likewise  seen 
admitted  into  the  highest  circles  many  persons  of  low 
birth  who  had  been  ennobled  on  account  of  their  war- 
like achievements.3  Later  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
although  very  few  of  the  old  nobility  remained,  they  yet 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  VII,  328  el  seq. 

2 Arch.  Med.  Flor.,  4185,  July,  1599. 

8 Letter  of  Oct.  29th,  1420. 


222  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


made  use  of  almost  royal  ceremony,  and  were  looked 
upon  with  nearly  as  much  respect  as  the  monarch  him- 
self. They  had  their  followers  and  retainers,  who  at 
their  lord’s  command  would  fight  even  against  the  king. 
The  people  regarded  them  as  their  representatives,  al- 
though the  crown  had  often  tried  to  break  their  power. 
The  nobles,  except  when  at  court,  lived  in  the  country 
where  they  kept  open  house  with  great  retinues  of  ser- 
vants,1 the  Earl  of  Pembroke  alone  having  more  than 
a thousand,  who  were  all  attired  in  his  livery.  Further- 
more, there  was  not  a lord  in  the  land  who  did  not 
have  foreign  servants  and  gentlemen  in  his  service.2 

At  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  an  Italian  trav- 
eller in  England  had  noticed  that  the  common  people 
were  held  in  but  little  higher  regard  than  serfs.3  Sub- 
sequent writers  did  not  observe  this,  but  many  petty  vex- 
ations remained  to  indicate  differences  of  rank.  Thus, 
even  fifty  years  later,  while  commoners  were  forbidden 
to  go  around  at  night  without  good  reason,  noblemen 
might  do  so.4  Another  difference  was  that  while  the 
nobility  were  extremely  polite,  especially  to  foreigners, 
the  populace  were  just  as  hostile.5  The  common  people 
had  indeed  many  curious  habits.  Toward  the  infirm 
they  would  show  compassion  in  this  way ; if  a man 
were  given  up  by  the  physicians  and  there  was  abso- 
lutely no  hope,  his  nearest  relatives  would  take  a pil- 
low, place  it  on  his  head,  and  then  sit  on  it  until  he 

1 Soranzo,  p.  52  et  seq.  4 Raviglio,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  71. 

2 Ubaldini,  f.  1 16  b.  6 Soranzo,  loc.  cit. 

3 Rel.  of  England,  p.  34. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


223 


suffocated,  a father  doing  this  to  his  son,  or  a son  to 
his  own  father ; and  they  did,  it  thinking  that  since 
there  was  no  chance  for  his  recovery,  it  was  an  act  of 
charity  to  relieve  him  from  his  pain.1  Another  trait 
noticed  was  that  when  they  fought,  it  was  usually  about 
some  trifle,  and  after  having  exchanged  a few  thrusts  with 
each  other  in  the  German  fashion  ( Coltellate  alia  Te- 
desca ),  when  one  had  wounded  the  other,  they  made 
peace  instantly  and  went  to  drink  together.  They  had 
not  the  point  of  honor  of  Italians,  either  as  regards 
women  or  when  the  lie  was  given.2 

The  freedom  allowed  women  was  very  puzzling  to 
the  Italians,  who  often  misinterpreted  it.  It  was  in 
striking  contrast  to  what  a former  traveller  had  alluded 
to  when  he  said  that  the  English  kept  very  jealous 
guard  over  their  wives.3  Most  writers  agreed 
about  the  great  attractiveness  of  English  women ; 
one  proclaimed  that  in  no  respect  were  they  inferior 
to  the  women  of  Siena  or  any  of  the  most  esteemed 
in  Italy;4  others,  too,  alluded  to  their  handsome 
presence,  fine  complexions  and  ready  wit,  saying  that 
only  at  Augsburg  were  their  equals  to  be  seen.5  It 
was  the  liberty  they  enjoyed,  however,  which  amazed 
the  foreigners  so  much ; no  one  inquired  as  to  what 
they  did  either  at  home  or  abroad,  and  under  pretence 

1 Relazione  Daniele  Barbaro,  Ed.  Alberi,  1551,  Pt.  I,  p.  157. 

2 Letters  of  Annibale  Litolfi  to  the  Duke  of  Mantua,  June  20, 
1557,  Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  VI,  1668-73. 

8 Pel.  of  England,  p.  23. 

4 Ubaldini,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  114  b. 


6 Litolfi,  Epist.  cit. 


224  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

of  going  out  for  meals,  they  could  do  what  they  liked. 
Married  women  especially,  either  alone  or  with  a 
female  companion,  would  accept  invitations  to  dine, 
not  only  from  an  Englishman  but  a foreigner  as  well.  It 
was  said  to  be  the  custom,  after  having  spoken  once  or 
twice  to  any  woman,  on  meeting  her  again  in  the  street 
“ to  take  her  to  a tavern  where  all  persons  go  without 
any  reserve,  or  some  other  place,  the  husband  not 
taking  it  amiss  but  remaining  obliged  to  you  and  always 
thanking  you,  and  if  he  sees  you  with  her  he  departs.”1 
Another  curious  custom  mentioned  was  that  if  a man 
should  give  flowers  to  a lady,  she  had  to  wear  them  for 
three  months  (sic),  when  they  were  exchanged  for 
others. 

Great  surprise  was  shown  at  the  alleged  want  of 
affection  displayed  by  Englishmen  toward  their  chil- 
dren ; every  one,  however  rich,  sent  his  children  away 
into  the  houses  of  others,  receiving  those  of  strangers 
in  return ; the  reason  given  for  such  severity  was  that 
they  might  learn  better  manners  ; but  one  traveller,2  at 
least,  thought  it  was  because  they  liked  to  enjoy  all 
their  comforts  themselves,  and  that  they  were  better 
served  by  strangers  than  they  would  be  by  their  own 
children,  since  the  English  were  great  epicures  and 
liked  to  indulge  in  the  most  delicate  fare  themselves, 
while  the  rest  they  gave  to  their  household.  The  Eng- 
lish fondness  for  food  and  long  dinners  was  a trait  al- 
ways noticed  by  the  more  frugal  Italians,  who  called 

1 Litolfi,  loc.  cit. 

2 Rel.  of  England. , p.  25. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


225 


them  gluttons,1  and  remarked  that  they  ate  five  or  six 
times  a day.2  Many  years  before  Poggio  had  dreaded, 
while  in  England,  the  meals  which  sometimes  lasted 
four  hours,  where  he  was  obliged  to  wash  his  eyes  with 
cold  water  to  keep  himself  awake  ; 3 others,  too,  bore 
witness  to  similar  conditions,  and  a century  later  this 
practice  still  continued,  although  conversation  with  ladies 
then  accounted  for  part  of  the  time  spent.  “ The  Eng- 
lish thought  no  greater  honor  could  be  conferred  or 
received  than  to  invite  others  to  eat  with  them  or  to 
be  invited  themselves ; and  they  would  sooner  give 
five  or  six  ducats  to  provide  an  entertainment  for  a 
person,  than  a groat  to  assist  him  in  any  distress.”4 

A characteristic  noticed  was  their  enjoyment  of  com- 
fort. They  loved  their  ease,  and  there  was  no  peasant 
who  did  not  ride  on  horseback ; England  was  even 
called  the  land  of  comforts.  Among  the  national  traits 
observed  was  also  their  desire  for  novelty  and  change,5 
and  their  inconstancy,  for  which  they  were  renowned  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  One  day  they  did  one  thing  in 
regard  to  religion,  and  the  next  day  another.6  An 
Italian,  alluding  to  their  fondness  for  novelty,  says  of 
them  that  they  attempted  to  do  anything  that  came 
into  their  heads,  just  as  if  what  the  imagination  sug- 
gested could  easily  be  executed ; hence  it  was,  he 
said,  that  a greater  number  of  insurrections  had  broken 
out  in  England  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  It 

1 Poggio,  Epist.,  I,  43. 

4 Litolfi,  Epist.  cit.,  p.  1671.  Vide  Ubaldini,  f.  112  b. 

3 Vespasiano,  p.  420.  5 Falier,  p.  26. 

4 Rel.  of  England,  p.  22  et  seq.  6 Barbaro,  p.  18. 

0 


226  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


was  perhaps  on  account  of  this  that  many  people 
would  boast  of  the  members  of  their  family  who  had 
been  executed.  “ Lately  a foreigner,  having  asked 
an  English  captain  if  any  one  of  his  family  had  been 
hanged  and  quartered,  was  answered,  ‘ not  that  he  knew 
of.’  Another  Englishman  whispered  to  the  foreigner, 
‘ Don’t  be  surprised,  for  he  is  not  a gentleman.’  ” 1 

A certain  arrogance  and  feeling  of  superiority  over 
other  nations  was  also  noticed  of  the  English.  Litolfi 
remarked  of  it  in  a letter,  “ The  man  who  said  that 
England  was  a paradise  inhabited  by  devils  did  not 
deceive  himself.”2  Long  before  this  it  was  said  that 
the  English  were  great  lovers  of  themselves  and  of 
everything  belonging  to  them ; that  they  thought 
there  were  no  other  men  as  good  as  they  were,  and 
no  other  world  but  England.  If  they  but  shared  some 
delicacy  with  a stranger  they  would  ask  him  if  such  a 
thing  was  to  be  found  in  his  country ; and  whenever 
they  saw  a handsome  foreigner,  they  would  say  he 
looked  like  an  Englishman,  or  that  it  was  a pity  he 
was  not  an  Englishman.3  They  considered  them- 
selves handsomer  than  any  other  nation  in  the  world.4 
Still  another  writer  remarked  that  its  inhabitants 
thought  nothing  existed  outside  England,  from  which 
they  proceeded  to  such  silly  propositions  that  they 
aroused  the  laughter  even  of  their  own  countrymen 
of  better  judgment.5 

Many  of  the  customs  of  the  country  were  also 

1 Litolfi,  Epist.  cit.  2 Ibid.  8 Ret.  of  England,  p.  20. 

4 Litolfi,  ibid.  6 Ubaldini,  Ms.  cit.,  f.  1 1 5 b. 


THE  ITALIANS  IN  ENGLAND 


22  7 


described  by  the  writers  on  the  subject.  The  fashion 
in  travelling  was  for  gentlemen  to  be  followed  by  their 
servants,  one  of  whom  carried  a valise  containing  his 
master’s  cloak,  hat  and  a book,  while  the  others  went 
behind,  bearing  each  a little  round  buckler  and  a 
sword.  Ladies  travelled  on  horseback  preceded  by 
footmen,  and  followed  by  their  maids  of  honor,  who 
were  usually  of  noble  birth.1 

The  system  of  wards  in  chancery,  a source  of  royal 
revenue,  by  which  the  crown  administered  the  estates 
of  orphans,  and  enjoyed  the  income  until  their  com- 
ing of  age,  was  described.  The  king  enriched  his 
retainers  by  giving  them  wealthy  wards  in  marriage, 
to  whom,  if  rejected,  they  were  obliged  to  pay  a 
year’s  revenues.  Matches  were  often  purposely  pro- 
posed, so  that  they  might  be  refused,  in  order  to  gain 
this  money  for  the  favorite  of  either  sex.2  Women,  it 
was  noticed,  were  given  but  small  dowries.  Many 
houses,  however,  such  as  the  Arundels,  had  been  en- 
riched through  the  female  line,  the  reason  for  this 
being  that,  on  a man’s  marriage,  one-third  of  his  estate 
was  settled  on  his  wife,  and  in  case  of  her  remaining 
a widow  she  could  dispose  of  it  as  she  liked,  if  there 
were  no  children.  The  king,  therefore,  would  often 
try  to  marry  one  of  his  courtiers  to  a rich  widow,  and, 
in  case  she  refused  her  consent,  he  could  seize  her 
estate  pretending  it  was  his  intention  to  unite  it  to 
another’s.  For  fear  of  this  many  widows  married 
almost  immediately  after  their  husband’s  death.3 

1 Litolfi,  Epist.  cit.  2 Raviglio,  f.  62.  3 Rel.  Michele,  f.  28. 


228  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

It  was  said  of  the  English  that  they  were  gifted 
with  good  understandings,  and  quick  at  anything 
they  applied  their  mind  to.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century  it  was  noticed  that  few  except 
the  clergy  were  given  to  study ; later,  however,  one 
writer  remarked  that  many  of  the  women,  and  above 
all  the  nobility,  were  very  learned  in  the  classics.  One 
curious  bit  of  advice  given  by  Ubaldini  to  his  com- 
patriots was  for  them  to  be  careful  not  to  offend 
Englishmen  by  a flat  contradiction,  but  little  by  little  to 
show  them  the  truth,  which  they  would  then  recog- 
nize.1 

1 Ms.  cit.,  f.  1 1 6. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND 
I 

The  condition  of  commerce  in  England,  through 
the  long  period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  was  in  striking 
contrast  to  its  importance  in  Italy.  One  country  had 
remained  to  a great  extent  an  agricultural  community, 
the  chief  export  of  which  was  wool ; the  other,  situated 
midway  between  Western  Europe  and  the  East,  had 
developed  a commercial  life  in  its  city  republics  far  in 
advance  of  what  was  then  known  elsewhere.  Coin- 
ciding with  the  first  development  of  the  Renais- 
sance, there  came  a great  expansion  of  trade.  Long 
before  this,  however,  the  Venetians  and  Genoese  in  the 
Orient,  and  the  Italian  merchants  in  Western  Europe, 
made  of  their  country  a central  point  in  the  com- 
merce of  the  world.  At  a time  when  all  the  rest  of 
Europe  was  still  deep  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  Italian 
city  communities  had  realized  the  benefits  which  were 
to  be  derived  from  trade.  A rapid  accumulation  of 
wealth  followed  the  success  of  their  undertakings. 
They  were  the  first  who  introduced  commercial  life 
and  ideas  into  the  countries  of  Western  Europe, 
teaching  them  banking  and  a knowledge  of  financial 
229 


230  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


affairs.  In  commerce,  as  in  literature  and  the  arts, 
Italy  led  the  way  for  the  rest  of  Europe  to  follow. 

In  the  great  fairs  that  were  held  in  Champagne,  in 
the  early  Middle  Ages,  the  Italian  merchants  had  taken 
a prominent  part.  They  had  then  gradually  branched 
out,  first  going  to  Flanders,  and  then  crossing  the 
channel  to  England.  They  came  over,  likewise,  in  the 
trains  of  the  Roman  prelates  sent  to  foreign  countries^ 
acting  as  their  business  men  and  bankers,  and  often 
too  as  the  papal  collectors  of  revenue. 

Commercial  relations  of  one  nature  or  another  had 
existed  between  Italy  and  England  from  very  early 
times.  Thus  Otto  degli  Gherardini,  a rich  Florentine, 
was  in  England  toward  the  end  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, and  acquired  much  landed  property ; his  son, 
Walter  Fitz  Otto,  became  castellan  of  Windsor.  A 
little  later  King  John  carried  on  negotiations  with  the 
Mercatores  Tuscie,  as  they  were  then  called,  and  even 
forbade  them  at  one  time  to  do  business  in  England,1 
although  he  granted  commercial  privileges  to  a Vene- 
tian. On  another  occasion  the  great  Florentine  family 
of  Bardi  became  impoverished,  through  having  lent 
money  to  Prince  Henry,  the  son  of  Henry  the  Second, 
which  was  never  repaid.  The  Italian  merchants,  how- 
ever, who  had  come  over  to  England  prior  to  1229, 
were  the  exception,  rather  than  the  rule.  In  that 
year  Master  Stephen,  chaplain  and  nuncio  of  the 
Pope,  who  had  been  charged  to  collect  the  tithes  to 

1 Vide  Davidsobn,  Geschichte  von  Florenz,  I,  798.  Gold- 
schmidt, Universal  Geschichte  des  Handelsr edits,  I,  186. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  23 1 


pay  the  expenses  of  the  war  which  was  to  be  waged 
against  Frederick  the  Second,  appeared  with  several 
of  them  in  his  retinue,  who  engaged  in  business  under 
the  papal  protection.1  The  Pope,  moreover,  induced 
the  unwary  Henry  the  Third  to  accept  for  his  second 
son,  Edmund,  the  crown  of  Sicily.  As  security  for  the 
payment  of  the  money  he  had  expended,  the  Pope 
obtained  a hold  on  English  religious  houses,  and,  in 
order  to  administer  his  affairs,  numerous  Italians  were 
sent  over.  In  the  meantime  more  and  more  English 
money  flowed  into  Sicily,  till,  at  last,  the  barons,  exas- 
perated, rose  in  revolt  to  depose  the  king,  while  the 
Pope  deprived  the  son  of  the  empty  title  which  had 
proved  so  ruinous  to  his  father.2 

The  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century  was  a period 
of  great  commercial  prosperity  for  the  merchants  and 
traders  of  Italy.  The  Italian  bankers  who  accom- 
panied the  collectors  of  the  papal  tithes  attended  to 
forwarding,  to  the  Curia,  the  sums  they  collected. 
From  this  time  the  names  of  Florentine,  Sienese  and 
Luccan  bankers  and  money  lenders  appear  on  the 
English  rolls,  and  in  Italy,  it  was  said,  whoever  had 
any  ready  money  at  his  disposal  became  at  once  a 
banker.3  The  Italian  merchants  in  England  prospered 
greatly,  and  in  very  few  years  extended  their  enter- 
prises throughout  the  kingdom  ;4  the  king  and  the 

1 Matthew  Paris,  Chronica , IV,  410. 

2 Archceologia,  XXVIII,  237. 

8 Vide  F.  Patetta  in  Bollettino  Senese  di  Storia  Patria , IV, 

320  et  seq.  4 Matthew  Paris,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  328  et  seq. 


232  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


clergy  especially  were  in  their  debt  for  enormous 
amounts. 

In  1240,  a royal  edict  was  issued  expelling 
foreign  merchants 1 on  the  ground  of  their  iniquitous 
usury,  but  many  of  them  managed  to  escape  this  de- 
cree by  bribery.  Some  eleven  years  later,  when  they 
had  once  more  settled  comfortably  in  London,  and 
were  living  under  papal  protection  in  the  finest  houses 
of  the  city,  the  king,  perhaps  because  in  need  of  money 
which  they  were  unwilling  to  supply,  accused  them  of 
being  heretics  and  guilty  of  lese  majesty.  They  were 
charged  with  contaminating  England  by  their  usury, 
as  well  as  with  offending  the  royal  conscience  by  prac- 
tices which  were  contrary  to  the  precepts  of  the 
church  ; but  this  persecution  ended,  like  others,  in 
the  payment  of  money.2 

In  spite  of  the  many  risks  involved,  England 
offered  a profitable  field  for  the  enterprise  of  Italian 
bankers  and  merchants,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to 
find  many  of  them,  as,  for  instance,  the  Salimbeni 
family  of  Siena,  returning  to  their  native  city  and 
purchasing  castles  and  estates  in  the  neighborhood. 
In  1262,  however,  the  Pope  issued  a bull  against  the 
Sienese,  declaring  them  excommunicate,  and  further- 
more decreeing  that  no  debts  be  paid  them  until  they 
had  made  their  peace  with  the  church.3  Exceptions 
were  soon  made  to  this  edict,  and  before  long  the 
Sienese  were  once  again  under  the  papal  protection, 

1 Matthew  Paris,  op.  cit.,  IV,  8.  2 Patetta,  op.  cit.,  p.  331. 

3 Ibid.,  p.  340. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  233 


although  in  the  meantime  they  had  suffered  con- 
siderably. An  incident  which  occurred  about  this 
time  illustrates  at  once  the  jealousy  which  existed 
between  the  merchants  of  the  different  Italian  cities, 
and  the  declining  power  of  the  Sienese  as  com- 
pared to  the  Florentines.  Henry  the  Third,  at  the 
instigation  of  the  latter,  had  expelled  from  England 
all  Sienese  bankers  and  merchants,  who  in  conse- 
quence addressed  a letter1  to  the  king’s  brother, 
Richard,  Duke  of  Cornwall,  the  newly  elected  emperor 
of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  requesting  his  protection 
and  defaming  the  Florentines  as  the  enemies  of  man- 
kind. From  1260  the  Sienese  yielded  the  palm  to 
their  rivals,  who  assumed  the  mastership.  The  Flor- 
entines long  preserved  the  lead  they  had  won.  In 
1:375  Gregory  the  Eleventh  issued  his  bull  in  which  he 
declared  them  excommunicate.  William  Courtenay, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  published  it  in  England, 
whereupon  the  Londoners  pillaged  the  houses  of  all 
Florentine  merchants.  The  king,  in  consequence  of 
this,  took  them  under  his  protection,  and  obtained 
thereby  large  sums  of  money,  while  on  the  other  hand  the 
archbishop  was  summoned  to  answer  for  his  conduct. 

The  Italians  at  first  had  been  merely  trading  mer- 
chants or  agents  of  the  Pope.  They  were,  as  a rule, 
members  of  established  companies  doing  business  in 
common.  Thus,  under  Edward  the  First,  there  were 
four  such  companies  of  Sienese  merchants  known  as 
campsores  Papa.  As  papal  agents  they  had  to  remit 

1 Donati,  Boll.  Stor.  Pat.  Sen.,  V,  257, 


234  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


yearly  to  Rome  one-tenth  of  the  profits  on  ecclesiasti- 
cal property.  The  king’s  connivance  in  this  was  often 
purchased  by  allowing  him  a share  as  well.1  The 
Pope,  moreover,  was  at  first  their  protector,  and  inter- 
ceded with  the  king  in  their  behalf  in  case  of  trouble. 
Already  before  the  end  of  Henry  the  Third’s  reign  the 
Italians  had  obtained  a firm  footing  in  England.  The 
facilities  they  enjoyed  enabled  them  to  issue  letters  of 
credit  to  ambassadors,2  and  bills  of  exchange  were 
probably  sold  only  by  them.  They  also  forwarded 
the  money  necessary  to  conduct  the  many  English 
ecclesiastical  lawsuits  and  cases,  which  were  continu- 
ally being  pleaded  in  Rome.3  In  England,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  purchased  wool;  the  returns  still 
exist  of  the  quantity  of  wool  in  the  possession  of  ten 
different  companies  of  Italian  merchants  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  the  First.4  At  a time,  moreover,  when  it 
was  extremely  difficult  to  raise  money  on  credit,  princes 
like  Henry  the  Third  and  the  first  three  Edwards 
made  use  of  their  resources.  Under  Edward  the  First 
they  enjoyed  close  connection  with  the  throne,  and 
the  merchants  of  Lucca  even  remitted  him  from  Eng- 
land the  necessary  sums  for  his  expenses  in  Palestine,5 
and  kept  him  informed  of  what  went  on  at  home. 
Later,  when  he  became  king,  he  fostered  their  trade 
and  induced  them  to  come  over  in  considerable  num- 
bers, obtaining  readily  from  them  the  money  he  could 
find  nowhere  else.  Interest  was  rarely  promised  in  the 

1 Arch.,  XXVIII,  214  et  seq.  2 Ibid.,  p.  218. 

3 Ibid.  * Ibid.,  p.  220.  6 Ibid.,  p.  24 1. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  235 


royal  loans  from  Italians,  for  interest  meant  usury,  and 
usurers  were  liable  to  be  treated  as  heretics ; but 
charges  of  usury  were  often  avoided  by  making  loans 
gratuitous  for  a period.  Instead  of  interest  an  addi- 
tional amount  was  usually  given  as  compensation  for 
any  losses  or  expenses  incurred.  Thus  ^10,000  was 
granted  by  Edward  the  First  to  the  Frescobaldi  of 
Florence 1 to  reimburse  them  for  the  losses  they  had 
suffered,  and  similar  premiums  were  often  given. 
Later,  however,  as  loans  grew  larger,  interest  began 
to  be  paid.  Edward  the  Third,  for  instance,  was 
obliged  to  grant  it  on  140,000  florins  he  had  borrowed 
from  a merchant  of  Lucca,  and  engage  himself  fur- 
thermore not  to  cross  the  seas  until  the  sum  advanced 
had  been  repaid.  Security  for  loans  was  usually  given 
by  an  assignment  of  a portion  of  the  royal  revenue 
for  the  amount  received.  Edward  the  Third  sur- 
rendered all  the  customs  of  the  kingdom  for  one  year 
to  the  Bardi  of  Florence,  who  had  undertaken  to 
provide  1000  florins  every  month  for  the  expenses 
of  the  royal  household.2  Often  the  great  noblemen 
and  sometimes  the  Italian  merchants  themselves  would 
become  the  king’s  securities  to  other  companies  of 
their  countrymen  for  sums  advanced ; Lord  Derby 
was  even  confined  in  France  for  debts  in  which  he 
had  been  the  king’s  security,  until  he  was  released  by 
the  company  of  Leopardi  who  advanced  the  required 
sum.3  Under  Edward  the  First  all  the  revenues  of 
Ireland  were  assigned  to  the  Frescobaldi  in  payment 

1 Vide  Arch.,  p.  229.  2 Ibid.,  p.  230.  3 Ibid. 


236  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


of  a loan  of  £1 1,000  ;x  for  in  Ireland  the  Italians 
were  hardly  less  active  than  in  England.  The  customs 
indeed  came  more  often  into  their  hands  than  into 
the  royal  treasury  during  the  latter  part  of  the  first 
Edward’s  reign,  and  in  the  early  years  of  Edward  the 
Second  all  its  receipts  were  made  over  to  them.2 

Another  source  of  remuneration  was  obtained  by 
means  of  the  various  commercial  privileges  granted 
them.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  king’s  good  will, 
the  Italians  could  scarcely  have  been  able  to  pursue 
their  undertakings.  By  an  ancient  custom  they  were 
obliged  to  dispose  of  their  cargo  within  forty  days 
after  landing,  and  so-called  hosts  were  awarded  them 
to  watch  and  report  on  their  dealings ; but  almost  the 
only  notices  which  occur  of  these  restraints  are  in 
the  petitions  of  English  merchants  regarding  their 
infringement.3  The  offices  to  which  they  were  ap- 
pointed were  another  source  of  profit ; they  were 
often  collectors  of  subsidies  and  customs,  and  the  mint 
was  generally  in  their  charge,  the  coiners  being  prin- 
cipally Italians.  But  they  held  positions  of  greater 
trust  as  well;  Amerigo  de  Frescobaldi  was  constable 
of  Bordeaux  under  Edward  the  Second,  and  Alberto 
de’  Medici  was  justice  of  the  Jews  of  Agenois  at  the 
same  time.4  They  seem  also  to  have  acted  as  royal 
agents  and  emissaries  in  foreign  parts ; under  the 
second  and  third  Edwards,  Antonio  Pessagno  and 
Antonio  Bache,  merchants  of  Genoa,  were  frequently 


1 Arch.,  p.  290. 

2 Ibid.,  p.  231. 


3 Ibid.,  p.  232  ct  seq. 

4 Ibid.,  p.  233. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  237 


engaged  abroad  in  the  king’s  affairs.1  The  favor  they 
enjoyed  in  England  can  be  seen  also  in  royal  letters 
recommending  them  to  the  Pope  and  the  king  of 
France.  The  natural  talents  of  the  Italians  fitted 
them  peculiarly  for  all  diplomatic  work ; as  an  illus- 
tration of  this,  it  was  said  that,  in  1244,  there  were 
no  less  than  twelve  Florentines  at  the  Vatican  acting 
as  ambassadors  from  the  different  states  of  Europe.2 

The  great  success  enjoyed  by  the  Italian  merchants 
and  money  lenders  in  England  roused  native  jealousy 
and  hatred.  At  the  death  of  Edward  the  First,  the 
Frescobaldis  alone  obtained  ^56,500  out  of  his  estate 
of  ^118,000,  and  much  of  the  remainder  went  to  pay 
other  Italian  creditors.3  In  the  statutes  of  the  Barons 
in  the  time  of  Edward  the  Second,  several  articles 
were  directed  especially  against  them : thus  the  cus- 
toms were  no  longer  to  be  trusted  to  aliens,  and  all  who 
had  received  profits  from  them  were  to  be  arrested 
with  their  goods,  and  obliged  to  render  account  of 
their  receipts.  Amerigo  de  Frescobaldi,  then  con- 
stable of  Bordeaux,  was  made  a particular  object  of 
persecution  in  a special  article  directed  against  him. 
These  measures  checked  the  Italian  money  lenders  for 
a time,  and  most  of  their  loans  after  that  were  made 
to  religious  houses  and  private  individuals,4  with  whom 
dealings  were  safer. 

The  greatest  blow  of  all  was  to  be  received  in 

1 Arch.,  p.  234. 

2 Delle  eccelenze  . . . della  nazione  Fiorentina,  p.  18. 

3 Arch.,  p.  249  e t seq.  * Ibid.,  p.  257. 


238  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


the  reign  of  Edward  the  Third.  The  Bardi  and 
Peruzzi  of  Florence  had  assisted  that  monarch  to  the 
full  extent  of  their  capital,  and  it  was  their  money  alone 
which  enabled  him  to  financier  and  carry  on  his  wars 
with  France.  In  spite  of  the  successful  ending  of  this 
war,  the  payment  of  the  sums  they  had  lent  was  con- 
stantly deferred.  Although  all  the  royal  revenue  and 
wool  passed  into  their  hands,  yet  their  outlays  were  so 
much  greater  that,  when  the  war  was  over,  it  was  found 
that  the  king  owed  the  Bardi  100,000  and  the  Peruzzi 
over  135,000  marks  sterling.  Much  of  this  was  not 
their  own,  but  had  been  borrowed  or  received  in  trust 
from  citizens  and  strangers.  Unable  finally  to  meet  their 
obligations,  they  lost  their  credit  and  became  bankrupt. 
In  consequence  of  this,  Florence  received  a great 
shock,  and  its  wealth  was  perceptibly  diminished,  “ for 
the  Bardi  and  Peruzzi  had  held  so  large  a share  of  the 
commerce  of  Christendom  that  upon  their  fall  every 
other  merchant  was  suspected  and  distrusted.”1 

In  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  the 
Venetians  began  to  make  their  appearance  in  Eng- 
land, coming  over  in  their  “ Flanders  Galleys,”  which 
were  long  the  connecting  link  between  the  two  states.2 
The  first  voyage  made  to  the  Low  Countries  was  in  1 3 1 7, 
and  the  first  Venetian  diplomatic  agent,  Gabriel  Dan- 
dolo,  captain  of  the  galleys,3  was  also  sent  to  England 
on  this  occasion.  From  that  time  on,  some  of  the  ves- 

1 Villani,  Cronica,  Bk.  XII,  ch.  LV. 

2 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  I,  lxi. 

8 Ibid.,  I,  cxxii. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  239 

sels  were  regularly  diverted  to  Southampton,  whither 
they  carried  the  products  of  the  East  and  brought  back 
in  return  cloth  and  wool. 

The  English  kings  found,  however,  another  use  for 
the  galleys.  In  1340  Edward  the  Third  wrote  to  the 
Doge  of  Venice,1  requesting  the  hire  of  forty  or  more 
vessels  for  one  year,  to  assist  him  in  his  war  against 
France,  and  asked  him  furthermore  to  urge  the  Doge 
of  Genoa  not  to  give  any  subsidy  to  Philip  of  Valois. 
Characteristic  of  the  chivalrous  English  monarch  was 
his  letter  to  the  Doge  in  which  he  wrote  that,  in  order 
to  avoid  further  bloodshed,  he  had  defied  Philip  either 
in  single  combat  or  with  an  equal  number  of  knights, 
and  had  also  challenged  him  to  prove  his  kingship  by 
placing  himself  in  a lion’s  den,  since  in  case  he  were 
a true  king  they  would  do  him  no  harm.  In  his  letter 
to  the  Doge,  Edward  likewise  offered  to  place  the 
Venetians  in  England  on  an  equal  footing  with  his  own 
subjects,  and  requested  that  one  or  both  of  the  Doge’s 
sons  be  sent  him  to  be  educated  at  the  English  court, 
promising  to  confer  on  them  every  honor,  including 
knighthood. 

For  two  hundred  years  Southampton  was  the  centre 
of  Italian  trade  with  England.2  In  1379  a Genoese 
merchant  who  had  promised  the  king3  to  make  it 
the  great  port  of  Western  Europe  was  assassinated  by 
the  merchants  of  London,  for  the  English  traders 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  I,  8. 

2 Mrs.  J.  R.  Green,  Town  Life  in  the  Fifteenth  Century,  II, 

290.  8 Ibid.,  II,  293. 


240  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

were  extremely  jealous  of  the  Italians.  The  republic 
of  Genoa,  on  another  occasion,  had  made  complaints 
of  the  depredations  on  its  commerce  by  English  priva- 
teers, and,  as  the  outcome  of  this,  in  1371,  it  ratified 
a treaty  of  commerce  with  England.  The  next  year 
Geoffrey  Chaucer  was  joined  in  a commission  with  two 
Genoese,  James  Pronan  and  John  de  Mari,  to  treat 
regarding  the  selection  of  a place  on  the  English  coast 
where  the  Genoese  might  locate  a commercial  estab- 
lishment. 

The  English  merchants,  however,  were  bitterly  hos- 
tile. They  proposed  a bill  in  Parliament  to  forbid  the 
Venetians  carrying  any  wares  except  those  of  their 
own  manufacture,  the  effect  of  which  would  have  been 
to  destroy  Venetian  trade  with  England ; and  advo- 
cated another  law  forbidding  sales  of  any  kind  to  the 
Genoese,  or  even  carrying  anything  to  their  port,1 
while  an  act  of  Parliament  of  1439,  still  in  force  at 
the  time  of  Polydore  Vergil,  prohibited  strangers  from 
selling  merchandise  to  others  than  Englishmen,  so  that 
they  should  not  get  all  the  trade.  This  jealousy,  how- 
ever, was  to  some  extent  natural,  as  the  carrying  trade 
of  England  was  then  largely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Italians ; the  Florentine  society  of  the  Alberti,  for 
instance,  carried  all  the  wool  from  Southampton  to 
Gascony.2  Enough  has  been  said  to  give  some  idea 
of  the  extent  of  the  commercial  relations  existing  in 
. the  Middle  Ages  between  the  two  countries.  The  oft- 
cited  name  of  Lombard  Street  still  bears  witness  to 

1 Mrs.  J.  R.  Green,  op.  cit.,  I,  116.  2 Ibid.,  II,  290. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  24 1 

the  time  when  the  business  of  banking  and  exchange 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  Italians.  The  free  commer- 
cial life  of  their  city  republics,  their  large  shipping, 
their  commanding  position,  situated  between  the  Orient 
and  Western  Europe,  all  helped  to  make  them  the 
dominant  factor  in  the  trade  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Long  before  the  rest  of  Europe  had  awakened  from 
its  feudal  dreams  and  the  impracticable  ideals  of  the 
age,  the  Italians  had  realized  the  benefits  that  were  to 
be  attained  through  commerce.  Their  success  stirred 
the  jealousy  and  hatred  of  the  nations  with  whom  they 
traded.  But  royal  protection  and  court  favor  stood 
them  in  good  stead,  while  those  who  were  loudest  in 
denouncing  them  learned  the  lessons  which  they  taught. 

II 

No  sudden  transition  separated  the  history  of  Italian 
commerce  in  the  Renaissance  from  its  course  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  Commercial  development,  although 
perhaps  not  quite  orderly  in  its  growth,  yet  remained 
constant.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  fifteenth  century 
does  not  bear  the  same  significance  in  its  relation  to 
Italian  commerce  in  England  as  it  did  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  humanism.  At  the  same  time  its  end  marked 
likewise  the  end  of  a certain  stage  in  the  commercial 
relations  between  England  and  Italy,  when  Italians  no 
longer  looked  upon  England  as  a country  to  be  merely 
exploited,  but  as  a land  in  which  they  could  settle, 
acquire  citizenship  and  justly  take  pride. 


R 


242  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


It  may  be  of  interest  to  enter  into  the  composition 
of  an  Italian  banking  house  in  London  in  the  fifteenth 
century ; to  show  the  manner  in  which  such  a firm 
was  established,  the  arrangements  made  between  the 
partners,  regarding  their  shares  of  the  profits,  the 
capital  which  was  to  be  put  in  by  each,  and  study 
the  details  of  management,  the  risks  to  be  under- 
taken, the  insurance  to  be  paid  on  the  shipping,  and 
the  penalties  for  violation  of  rules ; the  whole  organi- 
zation, in  a word,  of  a commercial  firm  in  the  fifteenth 
century. 

A typical  instance  can  be  found  in  the  contract 
drawn  up  on  May  31,  1446,  between  Cosimo  de’ 
Medici  and  Giovanni  Benci  on  one  hand,  and  Gierozo 
de  Pigli  on  the  other,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
on  a business  in  the  city  of  London.1  The  arrange- 
ment made  was  for  Gierozo  de  Pigli,  a young  man 
with  a limited  capital,  to  be  sent  to  England  on  a 
four  years’  contract  to  engage  in  a business  of  ex- 
change and  general  merchandise.  The  capital  of  the 
company  was  to  be  ^2500  sterling,  of  which  Cosimo 
and  Giovanni  were  to  supply  £2166%,  and  Gierozo  the 
balance,  all  of  which  was  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
first  day  of  November.  In  case  any  money  had  not 
been  paid  in  by  that  time,  twelve  per  cent  interest  was 
to  be  charged  on  it.  The  said  Gierozo  was  to  go  to 
London  and  there  manage  in  person  the  affairs  of  the 
firm,  nor  was  he  to  leave  that  city  without  writing  for 

1 Carteggio  Mediceo  avanti  il  Principato,  filza  94,  Mss. 
Archives  Florence. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  243 


permission  from  his  partners,  except  to  go  to  South- 
ampton or  elsewhere  in  England  on  the  firm’s  busi- 
ness. If  he  went  anywhere  without  consent,  it  was  at 
his  own  peril  and  expense,  while  otherwise  the  com- 
pany assumed  it. 

Cosimo  and  Giovanni  were  each  to  get  two-fifths 
of  the  profits,  and  Gierozo  the  other  fifth;  and  the 
same  arrangement  was  to  hold  good  in  case  of  loss, 
“which  God  forbid!”  Nor  were  the  profits  to  be 
removed  from  the  business  for  the  entire  term  of  the 
agreement.  Cosimo  and  Giovanni  together,  or  even 
Cosimo  alone,  had,  however,  the  privilege  of  termi- 
nating the  four  years’  contract  earlier  in  case  they 
should  see  fit.  Gierozo  was  to  be  allowed  ^33  ior. 
a year  for  necessary  expenses.  By  the  terms  of  the 
agreement,  moreover,  Gierozo  was  not  to  lend  or  give 
credit  in  any  way  to  any  Signori,  but  only  to  lend 
money  to  merchants  and  craftsmen  of  good  reputa- 
tion and  credit.  Since,  however,  it  was  often  neces- 
sary to  sell  Roman  exchange  on  credit  to  churchmen 
and  pilgrims,  and  Venetian  to  knights  of  Rhodes  and 
other  gentlemen  and  pilgrims,  and  furthermore  on  ac- 
count of  favors  at  the  court  it  was  sometimes  necessary 
to  allow  credit  in  different  ways,  he  was  to  exercise  his 
own  judgment  and  discretion  in  all  such  matters,  only 
securing  himself  sufficiently  to  cover  risks. 

Gierozo,  moreover,  was  instructed  not  to  purchase 
more  than  ^500  worth  of  wool  or  cloth  without  the 
permission  of  Cosimo  and  Giovanni.  He  was  not  to 
forward  cargo  of  a greater  value  than  fifteen  hundred 


244  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


ducats  on  Florentine  and  Venetian  galleys ; on  any 
larger  amount  shipped  he  should  obtain  insurance. 
He  was  also  to  do  this  if  the  merchandise  was  sent 
on  ships  of  any  other  nationality,  otherwise  it  was  to  be 
at  his  own  risk ; moreover,  he  was  not  to  insure  any 
one  else,  except  for  his  own  personal  account.  He 
had  to  pledge  himself  not  to  engage,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  during  the  length  of  this  contract,  in 
any  other  mercantile  or  exchange  business  without 
having  first  asked  the  permission  of  Cosimo  and 
Giovanni  and  obtained  it  in  writing  from  them;  and 
if  at  any  time  he  should  violate  this  agreement,  he 
was  to  pay  a penalty  of  five  hundred  florins  for  each 
offence.  He  had  also  to  promise  not  to  gamble  or 
play  at  dice  ; in  case  he  did  so,  any  winnings  of  over 
ten  ducats  were  to  go  to  the  company,  while  any 
losses  were  to  be  out  of  his  own  pocket.  Moreover, 
any  gifts  he  might  receive  of  over  ten  ducats  in  value 
were  to  be  the  property  of  the  company. 

Gierozo  was  to  remit  his  balance  sheets  and  ac- 
counts to  Florence  at  least  once  a year,  and  at  any 
other  time  Cosimo  and  Giovanni  might  demand.  He 
was  not  to  negotiate  business  of  importance  with  any 
other  firm  without  having  previously  consulted  them. 
Nor  was  he  to  export  gold  from  England  or  do  any- 
thing else  against  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  without 
first  obtaining  the  permission  of  Cosimo  and  Giovanni, 
nor  involve  the  firm  in  any  way  directly  or  indirectly 
under  penalty  of  five  hundred  ducats  for  each 
offence. 


! 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  245 

The  details  of  what  was  to  happen  at  the  expiration 
of  the  contract,  before  anything  new  could  be  un- 
dertaken, were  also  given.  Unless  the  agreement 
were  renewed,  the  signers  bound  themselves  to  settle 
the  affairs  of  the  old  firm,  and  wind  up  the  business, 
even  if  Gierozo  should  be  obliged  to  remain  in  Eng- 
land an  additional  six  months  at  the  expense  of  the 
company.  The  house  in  London  as  well  as  all  the 
books  of  the  firm  were  to  belong  to  Cosimo  and  Gio- 
vanni, but  Gierozo  was  to  have  access  to  the  latter. 
All  the  creditors  then  unpaid,  as  well  as  the  money 
left  to  pay  them,  were  to  be  looked  after  by  the  two 
senior  partners. 

The  above  articles  Cosimo,  Giovanni  and  Gierozo 
solemnly  bound  themselves  to  follow  and  observe, 
submitting  any  difficulties  which  might  arise  before 
the  court  of  the  Mercanzia  in  Florence,  or  any  other 
court,  either  in  England,  at  Bruges,  or  elsewhere ; in 
recognition  whereof  they  signed  the  agreement, 
promising  faithfully  to  obey  it. 

A second  document  in  the  same  series1  contains 
the  instructions  given  the  same  day  the  contract  was 
drawn,  by  Cosimo  de’  Medici  and  Giovanni  Benci  to 
the  said  Gierozo,  on  his  setting  out  to  take  charge  of 
the  new  firm  in  London.  He  was  advised  with  regard 
to  his  relations  with  other  Italian  merchants,  and  in- 
structed further  as  to  the  nature  of  the  loans  he 
should  make,  and  the  exchange  he  was  to  give.  On 

1 Carteggio  Mediceo  avanti  il  Principato,  filza  94,  Archives 
Florence. 


246  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


account  of  his  youth  he  was  warned  first  of  all  to  be 
careful  of  himself  and  also  of  the  company  he  kept. 
His  journey  was  also  mapped  out  beforehand ; in  his 
partners’  judgment  it  seemed  best  for  him  to  travel  by 
way  of  Milan  and  Geneva,  through  Burgundy  to  Bruges, 
and  then  on  to  London.  He  was  given  a letter  of 
introduction  to  be  presented  in  Milan  to  Alexander 
Castagniolo,  who  would  give  him  further  advice  or  aid  if 
any  were  necessary,  as  well  as  furnish  him  with  money, 
which  he  could  also  obtain  at  Geneva.  He  was  told 
at  the  outset  the  amount  of  credit  he  could  give  cer- 
tain firms,  whose  reputation  had  been  good  in  the 
younger  days  of  Cosimo  and  was  still  unchanged.  In 
Milan  he  would  be  able  to  acquaint  himself  about 
other  concerns.  The  next  stopping  place  on  the 
journey  was  Geneva,  where  he  could  stay  at  their  own 
house,  for  the  Medici  possessed  branch  houses  in  many 
different  cities.  He  was  instructed  to  stir  up  the  young 
men  who  conducted  the  firm’s  affairs  in  that  city  to  do 
their  best,  and  if  necessary  to  advise  them  himself,  as 
the  head  of  that  branch  was  absent  on  business ; the 
youngsters,  it  was  said,  would  obey  any  advice  he  saw 
fit  to  give  them.  Bruges  was  the  next  town  where  he 
could  stay  at  the  company’s  house  ; he  was  to  urge  the 
two  agents,  Simone  Nori  and  Tomaso  Portinari,  to  do 
their  utmost,  in  order  that  they  might  give  an  account 
of  themselves  and  of  what  they  really  were  doing.  He 
should  report  on  this,  as  well  as  what  his  opinion  of  them 
really  was ; in  the  meantime  Cosimo  and  Giovanni 
would  write  Nori  to  obey  him  and  follow  his  instructions. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  247 


Arrived  in  London,  he  was  told  to  occupy  the  same 
house  he  had  taken  there  two  years  before,  and  make 
all  necessary  business  arrangements  in  the  name  of  the 
company.  He  had  also  a letter  of  introduction  to  a 
certain  Angelo  Tani ; Tani  was  his  subordinate,  and 
to  be  directed  by  him  as  to  what  he  should  do  ; in 
the  opinion  of  Cosimo  he  was  best  fitted  to  keep  the 
accounts  and  attend  to  all  the  correspondence.  Gerard 
Canigiani,  another  member  of  the  firm,  would  probably 
be  of  most  use  behind  the  counter,  while  yet  another 
who  had  learned  English  would  do  elsewhere ; power 
was  given  him  to  dispose  of  them  all  as  he  saw  fit.  He 
was  cautioned  not  to  permit  exchange  or  credit  to  be 
allowed  nor  loans  made  without  his  permission.  In 
the  places  where  the  Medici  and  Benci  had  branches 
he  was  to  do  business  with  their  houses  and  no  others ; 
at  Bruges,  for  instance,  they  felt  sure  he  could  do  better 
with  Simone  Nori  than  with  any  one  else,  and  they 
thought  he  would  be  able  to  transact  some  profitable 
affairs  with  his  assistance.  In  such  places  where  they 
had  no  branch  houses  he  was  to  select  the  best 
merchants,  and  be  very  careful  to  act  in  all  honor 
toward  those  who  treated  him  well.  He  would  have 
to  ship  wool  and  cloth  to  the  value  of  one  thousand 
or  fifteen  hundred  florins  to  the  different  houses  of 
Medici  in  Rome,  Florence,  and  Venice,  the  Benci  in 
Geneva,  and  other  allied  firms  at  Avignon  and  Pisa, 
and  he  was  to  attend  to  any  orders  they  might  send 
him.  Many  firms  as  soon  as  they  had  heard  of  this 
new  concern  in  London  would  forward  goods  on  con- 


248  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


signment.  For  this  reason  he  was  advised,  at  the  out- 
set, with  whom  he  should  do  business.  At  Naples,  for 
instance,  there  was  no  one  of  sufficiently  good  stand- 
ing for  him  to  have  dealings  with;  at  Rome  were  the 
Pazzi,  whose  credit  was  of  the  best ; several  other 
firms,  too,  were  mentioned  where  a limit  of  fifteen 
hundred  florins’  credit  was  set  down.  In  Florence 
there  were  also  good  concerns,  such  as  the  Serristori 
and  the  Rucellai.  Cosimo  confessed  his  ignorance  of 
mercantile  houses  in  Venice,  and  advised  him  to  be 
very  cautious  and  conservative  in  dealing  with  them, 
but  he  mentioned  houses  of  good  standing  at  Genoa 
and  Avignon,  Barcelona  and  Valencia.  He  warned 
Gierozo  always  to  be  on  his  guard  and  not  pay  more 
than  merchandise  was  worth ; nor  remit  money  or 
exchange  to  any  Genoese  or  Venetian  merchants  with- 
out special  permission.  He  was  to  have  no  business 
relations  with  either  Brittany  or  Gascony ; but  in  case 
good  wines  should  be  sent  him  on  consignment,  he 
could  keep  them  so  long  as  it  was  not  a matter  of 
any  importance.  It  was  also  thought  best  for  him 
to  have  nothing  to  do  with  Catalan  merchants.  Re- 
garding English  traders  who  did  business  in  the  fairs 
of  Flanders,  he  must  exercise  his  own  judgment  and 
discretion. 

Cosimo  and  Giovanni  hoped  he  would  enjoy  the 
favor  of  the  king  and  queen ; in  case  he  should  find 
need  for  any  letters  of  recommendation  from  King 
Ren£  [of  Provence,  father  of  Margaret,  the  wife  of 
Henry  the  Sixth],  if  he  would  let  them  know,  they 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  249 


would  send  them  to  him  very  quickly.  In  London 
he  was  to  have  the  direction  of  the  entire  concern, 
and  the  younger  men  were  to  follow  his  instructions 
and  look  up  to  him  as  their  chief. 

Ill 

The  animosity  felt  by  the  populace  against  the 
Italian  merchants  was  difficult  to  overcome,  and  their 
very  success  in  commerce  only  served  to  increase  this 
hatred.  The  English  dislike  of  everything  foreign  was 
long  characteristic  of  the  nation,  and  Voltaire  himself 
was  hooted  and  chased  by  a London  mob  for  no  other 
reason  than  being  a foreigner.  In  earlier  centuries 
popular  indignation  at  the  success  of  aliens  took  more 
violent  forms  in  the  frequent  riots  against  them,  when 
the  king  was  obliged  to  take  them  under  his  protec- 
tion. This  hostility  to  all  foreigners  was  well  known 
on  the  continent.  Italian  gentlemen  had  asked  its 
meaning  of  William  Thomas,1  who  replied  that  it  had 
existed  at  a time  when  there  was  no  foreign  com- 
merce in  England,  and  when  ignorant  people,  seeing 
strangers  resort  thither  for  purposes  of  trade,  imag- 
ined that  they  went  there,  not  to  buy  commodities 
but  to  rob  them^-and  that  foreigners  unable  to  make  a 
living  in  their  own  country  came  to  England  to  plun- 
der the  natives.  But  all  that  was  a thing  of  the  past, 
continued  Thomas.  Later  travellers,  however,  did  not 
cease  to  complain  of  the  discourtesy  shown  them  by 
the  populace.  Long  before  Thomas’  day  there  had 

1 Pilgrim,  p.  6. 


250  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

been  numerous  complaints,  and  at  Southampton 
there  were  frequent  fights  between  Italians  and  Eng- 
lish.1 An  Italian  who  travelled  in  England  about  the 
year  1500  noticed  the  general  antipathy  to  foreigners, 
who  were  supposed,  he  said,  never  to  go  there  but  to 
make  themselves  masters  of  it  and  usurp  English 
goods;2  and  a Milanese  traveller  in  1516  com- 
mented likewise  on  the  hostility  to  strangers.3 

Vexatious  acts  had  several  times  already  been 
aimed  against  them  in  Parliament.  In  1455,  however, 
a law  was  passed  forbidding  Italian  merchants  to 
buy  wools  or  wool  cloth  of  the  producers  in  the 
country,  or  anywhere  except  in  the  cities  of  London, 
Southampton  and  Sandwich.4  The  disturbances 
leading  up  to  this  had  begun  some  years  earlier. 
Wool  had  frequently  been  seized  on  Venetian  galleys, 
and  the  Doge  had  remonstrated  on  account  of  this,  as 
well  as  about  injurious  trade  regulations.5  Many  annoy- 
ances were  suffered  by  Florentine  merchants  as  well, 
and  former  favors  were  now  refused,  on  account  of  an 
Englishman  in  the  royal  service  who  had  some  un- 
settled claims  in  Florence.  The  Florentines  there- 
fore came  together,  and  selected,  as  their  ambassador 
to  the  king,  Bindo  da  Staggio,  who  was  to  request  him 
to  renew  the  safe-conducts  and  again  allow  the  Floren- 

1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  I,  5. 

2 Relation  of  England,  p.  21  et  seq. 

8 Add.  Ms.  24,180,  Brit.  Mus.,  f.  29. 

4 Mrs.  J.  R.  Green,  op.  cit.,  II,  293. 

6 Beckynton,  II,  126. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  25 1 


tines  to  purchase  English  wool.1  To  procure  these 
favors  required  a considerable  sum  of  money,  and  they 
voted  to  allow  Bindo  five  hundred  and  fifty  ducats  a 
year  for  eight  years ; the  cost  of  this  was  to  be  borne 
by  the  galleys  trading  between  England  and  Tuscany, 
which  were  to  pay  a tax  of  one-half  per  cent  in  value 
of  the  merchandise  they  carried.  Any  one  violating 
this  agreement  was  to  be  fined  five  hundred  florins. 
All  difficulties  were  to  be  submitted  to  the  consuls  of 
the  sea,  whose  duty  it  was  to  supervise  the  maritime 
trade.  A further  tax  of  the  same  amount  was  also  im- 
posed on  the  merchandise  carried  by  the  galleys,  in 
order  to  pay  off  an  English  claim  of  forty-four  hun- 
dred ducats,  which  had  been  the  alleged  cause  of  the 
annoyances  suffered  by  the  Florentines  in  London. 
Additional  precautions  were  taken  against  possible 
fraud,  and  further  penalties  assigned  for  violation  of 
the  rules,  the  jurisdiction  on  all  similar  matters  being 
placed  under  the  general  direction  of  the  consuls  of 
the  sea.  From  these  taxes,  moreover,  the  expenses 
of  any  Florentine  who  had  been  arrested  in  England 
in  consequence  of  the  reprisals  were  to  be  paid  pro- 
vided the  costs  did  not  exceed  five  hundred  florins. 
It  was  also  agreed  that  a syndic,  or  official,  should  be 
selected  in  Florence,  who  was  to  have  jurisdiction 
over  all  Florentines  residing  in  England,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  properly  organized.  The  two  chosen  for 
this  were  Francesco  Strozzi  and  Gierozo  de  Pigli,  both 

1 Filza  Strozziana,  Archives  Florence,  294  Cte.,  135-136, 
31st  August  1448. 


252  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


at  that  time  residing  in  London,  who  were  to  arrange 
between  themselves  who  should  begin  and  who  finish 
the  term.  In  the  Middle  Ages  the  consul  had  been 
a magistrate  elected  by  a colony  of  merchants  at  a 
foreign  port  to  watch  over  their  interests  and  govern 
them,  being  paid  in  fees  fixed  by  the  merchants 
themselves.  The  two  before  mentioned  were  thus 
the  first  consuls  of  the  Florentine  colony  in  London. 
Adversity  was  perhaps  the  cause  which  forced  the 
other  “ nations  ” to  organize  in  similar  manner  and 
plan  measures  of  self- protection.  In  1456  a popular 
riot  drove  the  Italian  merchants  out  of  London,  to 
seek  refuge  elsewhere.  In  consequence  of  this  a 
mutual  agreement  was  signed  by  the  Florentines, 
Venetians,  Genoese  and  Luccans  residing  there,  in 
which  they  pledged  themselves  to  remain  away  from 
London  and  have  no  business  relations  with  any  one 
in  that  city  for  the  term  of  three  years.  The  docu- 
ment itself  will  repay  a closer  examination.1 

In  the  name  of  the  Almighty,  of  the  Most  Holy 
Virgin,  and  the  entire  celestial  court  of  Paradise,  it 
began,  the  delegates  representing  the  merchants  of 
Venice,  Genoa,  Florence  and  Lucca,  residing  in  Lon- 
don, bind  other  traders  of  their  respective  nations  to 
observe  the  terms  of  the  agreement  here  signed 
under  a penalty  of  ^200  sterling,  which  fine  is  to 
be  inflicted  by  the  consuls  of  his  nation  on  any 
merchant  breaking  the  agreement.  And  furthermore, 

1 Filza  Strozziana,  Archives  Florence,  294  Cte.,  138,  139, 
22d  June  1457. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  253 


in  case  the  said  consuls  should  neglect  to  enforce  it, 
they  themselves  shall  be  held  responsible  and  fined 
a like  amount.  In  addition,  the  said  merchants  agree 
to  leave  London  with  all  their  possessions  within  six 
months  (unless  some  good  reason  such  as  severe  ill- 
ness or  imprisonment  shall  prevent  them  from  so 
doing),  and  go  to  the  city  of  Winchester,  or  any  other 
place  in  the  island,  not  within  a radius  of  thirty  miles 
from  London.  Those  merchants  only  might  stay  who 
had  wine  or  similar  articles  on  hand,  provided  that  on 
expiration  of  the  six  months  they  gave  notice  to  their 
consuls,  swearing  that  only  such  merchandise  and  no 
other  was  still  for  sale.  But  no  merchant  could  import 
further  goods  from  the  first  of  July,  eight  days  after  the 
agreement  had  been  signed,  nor  was  he  to  receive  any 
either  directly  or  indirectly.  After  the  first  of  January, 
which  was  six  months  from  date,  no  business  relations 
of  any  kind  were  to  be  conducted  with  any  one  in 
London,  nor  was  exchange  to  be  bought  or  sold  there. 
Special  provision  was  made,  however,  for  goods  shipped 
by  way  of  Zealand  which  might  be  in  transit  at  that 
time. 

The  signers  furthermore  bound  themselves  to  do 
their  best  to  dissuade  all  Italian,  Sicilian,  Catalan, 
or  Spanish  merchants  from  doing  business  either  of 
money  lending,  importing,  selling  merchandise  or 
exchange,  or  of  any  nature  whatever,  in  London,  dur- 
ing the  same  period,  and  in  case  they  failed  in  this, 
such  merchant  was  to  be  discriminated  against  by  the 
rest  and  boycotted  in  every  way  possible,  even  to 


254  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


the  extent  of  refusing  to  carry  his  goods  in  their  ships. 
The  same  merchants  signing  this  agreement  were  also 
to  write  to  their  respective  governments  requesting 
them  to  ratify  the  articles,  and  by  inflicting  suitable 
penalties  see  to  it  that  they  were  observed  by  others  of 
their  community.  This  was  acceded  to  very  promptly, 
by  the  Venetian  Senate  at  least.1  The  consuls  were 
to  notify  all  captains  of  merchantmen  trading  with 
England  that  they  must  observe  the  terms  of  the 
agreement ; and  the  said  captains  were  to  certify 
before  the  consuls,  within  reasonable  time  from  date, 
regarding  the  goods  which  had  been  shipped  in  their 
care. 

The  “nations”  which  signed  this  agreement  bound 
themselves  to  stay  away  from  the  city  of  London  for 
the  term  of  three  years,  and  not  to  return  except  by 
mutual  agreement  on  the  part  of  all  four  parties ; 
at  the  end  of  that  time  a majority  of  three  was 
to  determine  whether  or  not  they  should  stay 
away  from  London  for  a longer  time.  Three  months 
before  the  expiration  of  the  agreement,  each  nation 
was  to  select  two  delegates,  and  on  their  coming 
together,  a three-quarters  vote  should  decide  what  was 
to  be  done.  At  the  end  of  five  years,  in  any  case, 
they  would  be  at  liberty  to  do  what  they  liked.  Each 
nation,  too,  was  to  be  permitted  to  send  a representa- 
tive to  London,  but  only  to  collect  outstanding  debts. 

These  articles  were  thus  signed  and  sealed  by  the 
delegates  of  the  four  nations,  who  swore  on  the  sac- 


1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  I,  84. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  255 


rament  to  observe  the  agreement  under  the  penalty  of 
eternal  damnation.  Four  copies  of  the  compact  were 
made,  each  nation  preserving  one.  Last  of  all,  they 
promised  not  to  injure  each  other  without  good  cause, 
through  anything  which  might  arise  from  these  mutual 
obligations. 

This  agreement  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  meas- 
ures taken  in  self-defence  by  the  Italian  merchants 
against  the  hatred  and  violence  of  the  London  mob. 
That  it  was  probably  not  without  effect  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  they  moved  back  before  1461.1 
The  second  term  of  absence  was  thus  considered  unnec- 
essary, nor  was  any  further  self-imposed  exile  heard  of 
from  that  time.  The  compact  showed,  also,  the  power 
of  organization  possessed  by  them ; they  were  able 
to  show  their  strength,  and  bind  not  only  themselves 
but  others  as  well  who  feared  to  incur  their  displeasure. 
Their  consuls  and  Massari  were  the  responsible  offi- 
cers of  each  community,  through  whom  official  relations 
with  their  respective  republics  could  be  maintained. 
A close  connection  existed  between  them  and  their 
native  cities,  and  at  no  time  in  this  early  period  did 
they  make  any  decided  attempt  to  identify  themselves 
with  those  with  whom  they  traded,  nor  break  the  ties 
which  bound  them  to  their  own  cities.  There  was 
then  good  reason  for  thinking  that  to  be  a citizen  of 
Florence  or  Venice  might  well  seem  a nobler  title  of 
distinction  than  that  of  Englishman ; the  hatred,  more- 
over, manifested  toward  foreigners  also  stood  in  the 


1 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Pen.,  I,  84. 


256  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

way  of  any  effort  they  might  make  toward  seeking 
another  allegiance. 

In  spite  of  certain  disadvantages  they  labored  under, 
the  Italian  merchants  prospered  in  England.  Soon 
after  their  return  to  London,  in  1465,  a new  company 
was  formed  in  Florence,  to  do  business  in  England : 
this  time  Piero  de’  Medici  and  Tommaso  Portinari 
provided  most  of  the  capital.  Of  this,  too,  the  terms 
of  contract  and  preliminary  agreement  are  still  pre- 
served.1 Without  going  into  the  details,  which  resem- 
ble in  substance  the  contract  already  examined,  in  the 
present  instance  the  conduct  of  affairs  in  England  was 
assigned  to  two  men,  Gherardo  Canigiani  and  Giovanni 
de  Bardi.  Its  capital  was  to  be  two  thousand  pounds, 
of  which  Piero  de’  Medici  alone  put  in  nine  hundred ; 
instructions  were  given  that  all  negotiations,  exchanges 
and  loans  must  be  conducted  in  an  honest  and  honor- 
able manner.  Moreover,  a one-tenth  share  of  the  profits 
was  to  be  distributed  in  charity,  either  in  building 
churches,  or  in  other  pious  works,  to  be  disposed  of  by 
Piero  de’  Medici  and  Tommaso  Portinari.  The  modern 
English  traveller  in  Florence  may  find  consolation  in  the 
thought  that  some  of  the  money  made  from  his  fore- 
fathers went  to  construct  the  Renaissance  churches 
of  that  city. 

Each  one  of  the  junior  partners  had  fifteen  pounds 
granted  him  yearly  for  his  living  expenses  in 
London,  which  gives  a clew  to  the  purchasing  power 
of  money  at  that  time.  They  had  to  bind  them- 

1 Arch.  Flor .,filza  99,  Mediceo  Avanti  il  Principato , 108. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  257 


selves  not  to  undertake  any  other  kind  of  busi- 
ness, either  directly  or  indirectly.  Other  provisions 
were  made  regarding  the  rendering  of  accounts,  their 
employees,  leaves  of  absence,  the  final  winding  up 
of  the  business,  and  various  contingencies.  They 
were  instructed  regarding  the  risks  which  should  be 
taken  in  shipping  merchandise ; while  limited  to  fifty 
pounds  on  ordinary  vessels,  they  had  permission 
to  go  up  to  one  hundred  in  the  case  of  Venetian  or 
Florentine  galleys.  They  must  do  no  insuring  for 
others ; and  also  pledged  themselves  not  to  involve 
the  firm,  either  by  their  own  actions  or  those  of  their 
friends  or  relatives.  All  gifts  of  greater  value  than 
two  pounds  must  be  handed  over  to  the  company, 
or  else  charged  to  their  account.  They  promised 
also  to  do  nothing  against  the  laws  of  the  country  ex- 
cept at  their  own  personal  risk.  This  agreement  they 
swore  faithfully  to  abide  by,  leaving  any  points  of  dis- 
pute which  might  arise  to  be  decided  by  the  courts. 

Such  contracts  as  the  two  cited  afford  illustrations 
of  the  commercial  life  of  the  time,  and  the  nature 
of  the  business  relations  existing  between  England 
and  Italy.  On  the  one  hand,  Italian  merchants  im- 
ported to  their  own  country  wool  and  wool  cloth,  for 
which  England  was  then  famous.  On  the  other,  they 
exported  general  merchandise,  and  especially  the  spices 
and  products  of  the  East,1  for  the  Italians  were  then 
the  intermediaries  between  the  Orient  and  Western 
Europe.  In  addition  to  this  they  did  a business  of 

1 W.  Heyd,  Geschichte  des  Levant  Handels,  II,  715. 


258  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

banking,  money  lending  and  exchange  ; their  excep- 
tional facilities  in  different  quarters  of  the  civilized  world 
gave  them  almost  a monopoly  of  such  transactions;  at 
the  same  time  their  carrying  trade  was  enormous  for 
that  age,  and  Italian  ships  long  enjoyed  the  supremacy 
of  the  seas.  Their  success,  however,  in  different  com- 
mercial enterprises  lent  a spur  to  the  English  mer- 
chants and  sailors  who  profited  by  their  example. 

Richard  the  Third,  in  1483,  issued  an  act  regu- 
lating the  sales  of  Italian  merchants.  The  fact  that 
they  sold  retail  as  well  as  wholesale,  to  the  alleged 
injury  of  native  traders ; that  their  success  was  of 
no  benefit  to  England  since  they  did  not  spend  there 
the  money  they  had  made ; and  further,  that  they 
played  into  each  other’s  hands,  — were  the  reasons 
given  for  his  restriction  of  their  trade.  Under  the  wise 
legislation  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  however,  a com- 
mercial treaty  was  made  with  the  Florentine  Republic,1 
in  1485,  by  which  English  merchants  undertook  to 
carry  every  year  to  Florence  sufficient  wool  to  supply 
all  the  Italian  states  save  Venice,  while  the  Florentines 
promised  to  buy  no  wool  unless  carried  on  English 
ships.  In  return  for  this  and  other  privileges,  corre- 
sponding ones  were  given  to  the  Florentines.  The 
Venetians,  also,  had  their  charter  to  trade  renewed  by 
Henry,  in  1507, 2 but  only  on  condition  that  they 
do  no  more  of  the  carrying  trade  between  England 
and  Flanders,  which  was  now  left  to  the  “ Merchant 
Adventurers.” 


1 Mrs.  T.  R.  Green,  op.  cit.,  I,  117. 


2 Ibid. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  259 

The  early  years  of  the  Renaissance  in  England 
were  coincident  with  the  growth  and  protection  of 
trade.  At  a time  when  commercial  life  was  still 
despised  in  feudal  Europe,  the  Italians  had  reaped  its 
possibilities.  Their  methods  and  ideas  were  largely 
followed  and  imitated,  in  banking  and  exchange,  as 
well  as  in  other  branches  of  industry.  In  many  ways 
England  was  dependent  upon  Italy ; to  give  but  a 
trivial  illustration,  the  famous  cloth  of  Nottingham  was 
long  sent  to  Italy,  to  receive  there  the  proper  scarlet 
dye.1  In  commerce,  as  in  other  directions,  England 
received  from  Italy  a powerful  and  long-lasting 
stimulus.  Through  the  possibilities  of  such  inter- 
course, other  streams  of  Italian  influence  were  filtering 
in  slowly.  Perhaps,  had  commerce  been  alone,  the 
others  might  have  amounted  to  nothing,  though  John 
Free,  it  is  said,  was  urged  to  study  in  Italy  by  some 
Italian  merchants  he  had  met  in  his  native  town  of 
Bristol.  The  influence  in  commerce,  however,  was 
only  a portion  of  that  greater  wave  which  had  swept 
over  all  of  Europe. 

IV 

There  was  no  sharp  dividing  line  in  the  history  of 
Italian  merchants  in  England  during  the  Renaissance. 
At  the  same  time,  certain  distinguishing  points  of  view 
are  clearly  discernible  at  different  times.  In  the  early 
days,  for  instance,  the  feeling  existed  of  the  wide  gulf 
between  them  and  those  with  whom  they  traded. 


1 Mrs.  T.  R.  Green,  op.  cit.,  II,  326. 


260  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

The  years  they  spent  in  England  were  years  almost  of 
exile,  undergone  by  needy  ones,  among  people  whom 
they  considered  barbarians,  and  among  whom,  it  must 
be  said,  they  lived  in  constant  danger.  The  young 
men  starting  in  life  were  sent  out  from  Italy  by  wealthier 
merchants,  who  stayed  at  home,  to  establish  commer- 
cial houses  in  England ; but  at  no  time  then  did  they 
endeavor  to  identify  themselves  with  English  life  in  any 
other  than  a business  way.  It  was  undoubtedly  true 
that  such  an  attempt,  on  their  part,  would  have  been 
much  in  the  nature  of  a retrogression.  To  modern 
minds  a sharp  cleavage  seems  almost  to  separate  the 
Middle  Ages  from  the  Renaissance.  It  is  difficult  to 
imagine  the  gradual  change,  when  the  shadows  of  one 
age  slowly  retreated  before  lights  of  the  new  era. 
But  the  separation  was  as  distinct  in  place  as  in  time, 
and  the  years  which  marked  it  varied  with  each  nation, 
those  who  discerned  it  latest  cherishing  it  the  longest. 
In  England,  through  the  whole  fifteenth  century,  the 
vitality  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  sinking,  and  there  was 
nothing,  as  yet,  to  take  its  place.  Faint  glimmers 
of  the  new  fire  of  Italy  flickered  above  the  Alps 
from  time  to  time,  while,  at  the  same  time,  men 
bred  in  the  surroundings  of  the  early  Italian  Renais- 
sance left  their  land  to  trade  in  foreign  countries. 
Between  London  and  Florence  there  was  then 
almost  a difference  of  two  ages.  However  superior 
the  Venetian  and  Florentine  may  have  felt  in  his 
English  mediaeval  environment,  it  seems  likely  that 
his  example  may,  perhaps  unconsciously,  have  done 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  26 1 


something  to  further  the  cause  of  the  Renaissance 
in  England,  and  hasten  the  coming  of  the  new  learn- 
ing. The  story  of  John  Free  is  significant  of  what 
may  well  have  taken  place.  It  would  be  strange 
indeed  if,  in  the  leisure  hours  of  the  counting  house,  the 
merchants  who,  when  at  home,  loved  their  Petrarch 
and  Ovid  failed  to  read  them  while  absent  in  their 
foreign  exile.  It  is  easily  conceivable  that  some  of  the 
early  manuscripts  of  the  Italian  poets  and  humanists, 
still  preserved  in  the  college  libraries  of  Oxford 
and  Cambridge,  were  first  brought  over  by  Italian 
traders. 

The  Italian  community  in  England,  and  especially 
in  London,  could  not  forever  keep  aloof  from  the 
native  population.  So  long  as  centuries  of  culture 
may  be  said  to  have  separated  the  two  people, 
the  gulf  was  a natural  one ; but  after  the  first  seeds  of 
the  Renaissance  had  taken  root  and  the  new  spirit, 
transmitted  in  a dozen  ways,  had  been  planted  in  Eng- 
land, the  chasm  was  to  a great  extent  bridged  over. 
What  facilitated  the  friendlier  intercourse  between 
Italian  merchants  and  Englishmen,  more  than  anything 
else,  was  the  growth  of  the  centralized  monarchy  in  the 
strong  hands  of  the  king.  Henry  the  Seventh  endeav- 
ored in  every  way  to  promote  the  commercial  welfare 
of  his  people,  and  realized  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  Italian  trade  and  friendlier  relations  with  Italian 
merchants.  Earlier  ordinances  had,  it  is  true,  been 
passed  in  their  favor,  such  as  a statute  of  Henry  the  Sixth, 
decreeing  that  no  tin  or  lead  be  exported  from  England 


262  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


(except  to  Calais),  save  only  by  merchants  of  Genoa, 
Venice,  and  Florence,  and  burgesses  of  Berwick.1 
The  court,  it  must  be  said,  had  always  been  least 
open  to  anti-foreign  prejudices,  and  tried  its  best  to 
shield  and  protect  the  Italians  from  the  violence  of  the 
London  mob;  but  it  was  not  until  the  time  of  the 
Tudors  that  the  crown  tried  to  foster  friendly  relations, 
not  only  with  Italian  merchants,  but  with  Italian  com- 
mercial communities.  In  1496,  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
the  Seventh,  the  diplomatic  intercourse  between  Venice 
and  England  really  began.2  For  the  signory,  it  was 
transacted  by  Pietro  Contarini  and  Luca  Valatesso,  two 
Venetian  merchants  established  in  London,  who  induced 
the  king  to  join  the  Holy  League.3  The  next  year 
Andrea  Trevisani  was  sent  over  as  regular  ambassador, 
and  a few  years  later  Francesco  Capello,  another  Vene- 
tian envoy,  was  knighted  by  the  king.  The  commercial 
treaties  signed  by  Henry  with  Florence  and  Venice  have 
been  mentioned,  as  well  as  his  relations  with  individual 
Italians  and  his  fondness  for  them  at  the  court.  In 
various  ways  this  was  noticeable,  and  the  first  diplomatic 

1 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  V,  136. 

2 That  is  to  say,  regular  relations  between  the  two  countries 
began  then.  Gabriel  Dandolo  was  the  first  Venetian  agent,  in 
1317.  Another  Venetian,  Antonio  Bembo,  requested  Henry  the 
Fourth  to  force  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  to  repay  a loan  of  750  ducats 
borrowed  of  him  for  the  duke’s  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land 
in  1404.  Michael  Steno,  then  Doge,  also  interceded  for 
Bembo  with  the  king.  (Cot.  Mss.,  Brit.  Mus.,  Nero  B.  VII, 
5 and  6.) 

3 Rawdon  Brown,  Four  Years  at  the  Court  of  Henry  VIII, 
I,  xx,  note. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  263 

correspondence 1 between  England  and  Florence  con- 
tained letters  from  Henry2  requesting  the  Signoria 
to  assist  his  equerry,  Ambonio  Spinola,  to  recover  cer- 
tain sums  of  money,  and  declared  himself  willing  to 
execute  similar  demands  against  his  own  subjects. 
Another  letter  recommended  his  retainer,  Antonio 
Corsi,3  whom  he  was  sending  to  Florence  to  purchase 
gold  cloth  and  silks  sufficient  to  load  three  mules, 
at  the  same  time  expressing  his  perfect  willingness  to 
reciprocate  in  any  way  he  could. 

Although  the  Italians  were  for  long  not  permitted  to 
have  shops  in  London,4  yet,  after  their  return  there, 
they  began  again  to  assume  even  greater  importance 
than  before,  and  had  almost  an  established  position  at 
court.  Henry  the  Eighth,  for  instance,  granted  letters 
of  recommendation,  addressed  to  the  Pope  and  other 
dignitaries,  to  such  merchants  as  Thomas  Corbo  and 
Giovanni  Cavalcanti,  who  were  among  his  favorites.s 
There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  artisans  and 
handicraftsmen  who  came  over  from  Italy  to  England 
in  the  early  years  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  largely 
encouraged  to  do  so  by  merchants  already  there. 
In  more  ways  than  one  Italians  were  now  beginning 
to  mingle  with  the  community  at  large.  Occasion- 

1 The  magistrates  of  Florence  had  already  interceded  with 
Edward  the  Third  in  behalf  of  the  Bardi  (Cot.  Mss.,  Brit.  Mus., 
Nero  B.  VII,  4). 

2 Arch.  Flor.,  Atti  Pub.,  12th  January  1498. 

8 Ibid.,  6th  July  1502. 

4 Ubaldini,  f.  236  ; also  Add.  Ms.  24,180,  Brit.  Mus.,  f.  27. 

6 Marini  Trans.,  Brit.  Mus.,  XXXVII,  ff.  128,  616. 


264  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

ally  one  would  marry  a native  and  become  an 
Englishman  to  all  intent;  the  grandfather  of  Nicholas 
Grimald,  the  poet,  for  instance,  was  Giovanni  Grim- 
aldi, a merchant  of  Genoa,  who  became  a denizen  of 
England  in  1485.  Usually  the  position  enjoyed  by 
Italian  merchants  at  home  made  them  wish  to  retain 
their  nationality.  Many  of  them,  however,  became 
important  personages  in  the  early  sixteenth  century. 
Leonardo  Frescobaldi,  the  “ Master  Friskiball  ” of 
Shakespeare,  was  well  known  in  London  and  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Life  and  Death  of  Cromwell.  Thomas 
Cromwell  was  also  said  to  have  been  befriended  by 
the  Frescobaldis  when  as  a youth'  he  had  to  beg  for 
alms  in  Florence.1  Frescobaldi  was  one  of  the  great 
merchants  of  the  day  and  supplied  the  king  with  his 
“ damask  gold,”  gilt  axes,  hand  guns,  and  similar 
merchandise.2  The  most  prominent  of  the  Italians 
of  that  time,  in  England,  was  Antonio  Bonvisi,  the 
friend  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  Cardinal  Pole,  and  other 
well-known  men.  Stowe  says  of  him  that  he  came 
over  to  England  in  1505,  and  taught  the  English 
people  to  spin  with  a distaff.3  He  acted  also  as 
banker  and  news  collector  for  the  government,  and 
transmitted  money  and  letters  to  ambassadors  abroad. 
He  was,  moreover,  a patron  and  friend  of  learned  men, 
especially  of  those  anxious  to  visit  or  study  in  Italy. 

1 This  story  of  Bandello,  though  probably  spurious,  is  yet 
worth  repeating. 

2 Stowe  Mss.,  1216,  Brit.  Mus. 

3 Burgon,  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  II,  453. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  265 

Thomas  Starkey,  Thomas  Winter,  Florence  Volusenus, 
were  all  his  associates,  and  Sir  Thomas  More,  from 
whom  he  purchased  his  residence  of  Crosby  Place,  in 
one  of  the  last  letters  he  wrote,  spoke  of  himself 
not  “ as  a guest  but  a continual  nursling  of  the  house 
of  Bonvisi.”  Bonvisi  was  thus  one  of  the  links  which 
then  bound  together  the  two  countries ; it  is  note- 
worthy that  his  family  did  not  return  to  Italy,  but 
settled  in  England.  The  old  Italian  idea  of  exile 
abroad  was  fast  disappearing ; England  had  caught  up 
with  rapid  strides  in  the  march  of  civilization,  and  the 
darkness  beyond  the  Alps  was  giving  away  to  a new 
dawn.  Italians,  too,  could  now  feel  that  another  home 
lay  open  to  them.  More  and  more  from  this  time  on 
they  identified  themselves  with  English  life,  and  al- 
though the  anti-foreign  prejudices,  especially  of  the 
populace,  were  not  dispelled  till  long  after,  there  were 
no  longer  unsurmountable  obstacles  separating  the  two 
people. 

At  the  same  time  the  Italians  did  not  give  up  their 
almost  inherited  rights  as  foreign  traders  in  a day. 
The  household  book  of  Henry  the  Eighth  1 is  full  of 
records  of  payments  to  such  merchants  as  the  Fres- 
cobaldi,  the  Corsi,  the  Cavalcanti,  the  Bardi,  and  so 
forth ; and  there  were  many  other  similar  warrants, 
as  one  of  the  King,  to  pay  “ Charowchon,”  2 Merchant 
of  Florence,  for  “ three  pieces  of  cloth  of  gold.”  The 
same  names  recur  time  and  time  again,  and  would 
seem  to  show  that  the  Italian  bankers  and  merchants 


1 Brit.  Mus.,  Mss.  2481  passim. 


2 Stowe,  Ms.  cit. 


266  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


in  London  were  in  constant  intercourse  with  the  court, 
either  as  purveyors  or  money  lenders.  It  was  said 
that  the  king  frequently  lent  money  to  the  Floren- 
tine merchants  in  order  to  allow  them  to  extend 
their  trade  ; they  sometimes  owed  him  as  much  as 
300,000  ducats.  The  merchants  were  in  this  way  able 
to  obtain  funds  at  a fair  rate  of  interest,  while  the 
king  often  empowered  his  favorites  to  collect  these 
debts  for  him,  allowing  them  to  keep  the  interest.1 
The  Italian  proclivities  of  Wolsey  and  Cromwell  further 
encouraged  the  merchants.  Wolsey  in  particular  prob- 
ably influenced  the  king  to  suppress  the  anti-foreign 
riots  of  1517.  Numerous  complaints  had  been  made 
at  that  time  of  foreigners  bringing  over  ready-made 
goods  to  the  injury  of  Englishmen  whose  work  they 
took  away : — 

Poor  tradesmen  had  small  dealings  then; 

And  who  but  strangers  bore  the  bell  ? 

Which  was  a grief  to  Englishmen, 

To  see  them  here  in  London  dwell.2 

The  trouble  had  been  stirred  by  a certain  popular 
preacher,  who  abused  the  foreigners,  accusing  them 
not  only  of  depriving  Englishmen  of  the  just  earnings 
of  their  labor,  but  of  debauching  their  families.  He 
urged  the  people  no  longer  to  permit  such  a state  of 
affairs  to  go  on,  and  so  inflamed  them  that  from  that 
day  on  they  threatened  to  massacre  the  strangers  and 
sack  their  houses.  On  the  first  day  of  May  a mob  of 

1 Sebastian  Giustiniani,  Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  II,  562. 

2 Cited  by  Digby  Wyatt,  op.  cit.,  222. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  2 67 

two  thousand  apprentices  and  a number  of  ruffians, 
after  pillaging  the  French  and  Flemish  quarters,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Italian,  shouting  death  to  the  cardinal 
for  his  foreign  sympathies.  But  as  the  Italians  were 
well  armed  the  mob  could  do  but  little  damage.1  The 
king,  however,  had  been  warned  of  the  intended 
massacre.  Although  at  Richmond,  he  sent  troops  to 
London  who  seized  all  the  rioters  they  found  in  the 
streets.  Gibbets  were  then  raised  all  over  the  town, 
and  sixty  of  the  mob  were  hanged,  and  many  others 
executed  in  other  ways.  “Very  great  vengeance  was 
taken  on  them,  and  his  Majesty  showed  great  love 
and  good  will  to  the  strangers.” 2 

Wolsey  employed  numerous  Italian  news  collec- 
tors, among  whom  were  Antonio  Bonvisi  and  An- 
tonio Grimaldi.3  Cromwell,  also,  favored  foreigners 
and  the  Venetian  merchants  addressed  themselves  to 
him  when  they  requested  him  to  obtain  from  the 
king  a renewal  of  their  license  to  trade  in  England  ;4 
the  celebrated  Aretino  even  recommended  young  men 
to  his  care.5  It  should  not  be  supposed,  however,  that 
the  Italian  traders  and  bankers  preserved  the  virtual 
monopoly  they  once  enjoyed.  Not  only  were  the 
merchants  of  the  Hanseatic  League  their  rivals, 
although  chiefly  in  other  branches  of  trade ; but  Eng- 
lishmen, too,  had  profited  from  the  success  of  for- 

1 Brewer,  Letters  and  Papers,  Henry  VIII,  II,  Pt.  II,  1031. 

2 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Ven.,  II,  385. 

3 Cot.  Mss.,  Brit.  Mus.,  Vitellius,  B.  XIV,  173. 

* Ibid.,  Nero,  B.  VII,  21.  6 Ibid.,  Nero,  B.  VII,  123. 


268  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


eigners  and  were  rapidly  learning  from  them.  After 
the  silent  preparation  in  the  fifteenth  century,  there 
had  come  a swift  awakening  in  the  next  hundred 
years,  and  the  same  necessity  for  foreign  enterprise 
to  open  up  English  commerce  was  no  longer  felt. 
Englishmen  were  now  quite  capable  of  looking  after 
their  own  affairs  and  developing  national  industries, 
while  judicious  protection  fostered  the  growth  of 
their  foreign  trade.  The  sixteenth  century  also 
marked  a relative  decline  in  Italian  commerce. 
Italian  merchants  were  no  longer  undisputed  masters 
of  every  field,  but  found  new  rivals  springing  up  on  all 
sides.  Italy  was  fast  approaching  the  downward  path, 
and  its  importance  was  no  longer  the  same.  Although 
Italians  during  the  age  of  Elizabeth  occupied  many 
positions  of  prominence  in  commercial  and  bank- 
ing circles,  their  situation  was  yet  a different  one  from 
what  it  once  had  been.  Toward  the  end  of  the  cen- 
tury they  formed  rather  isolated  instances,  or  seemed 
so  at  least  when  considered  among  the  greater  number 
of  English  competitors.  On  the  other  hand,  they  no 
longer  assumed  the  entirely  alien  point  of  view  which 
made  their  sojourn  in  England  in  former  days  seem 
temporary ; although  retaining  their  Italian  charac- 
ter, they  yet  entered  English  life,  sharing  alike  its 
privileges  and  responsibilities.  Some  became  citi- 
zens, others  married  English  women.  One,  the  most 
prominent  member  of  the  Italian  community  of  his 
day,  in  the  time  of  national  danger,  equipped  a vessel 
at  his  own  cost  in  the  fight  against  the  Armada. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  269 


V 

An  English  contemporary  observer  wrote  of  the 
Italian  merchants  that  they  “ fly  abroad  in  exceed- 
ing abundance  to  all  places,  and  in  wealth  (wherever 
they  come)  overtop  all  other,  such  is  their  skill, 
their  wit,  their  industry,  their  parsimony.” 1 It 
will  be  sufficient  to  consider  here  certain  of  the 
Italian  merchants  in  England  during  the  sixteenth 
century,  as  illustrating  phases  of  the  commercial  re- 
lations between  the  two  countries,  and  showing  their 
general  character.  Three  types  of  men  can  be 
found : Sir  Antonio  Guidotti,  the  negotiator  of 
loans  between  Henry  the  Eighth  and  Duke  Cosimo 
of  Florence,  who  was  knighted  by  Edward  the  Sixth 
and  later  returned  to  Italy,  leaving  behind  him  in 
poverty  an  English  wife  and  children  ; Ruberto  Ri- 
dolfi,  banker,  conspirator  and  unofficial  agent  of 
the  Pope,  who  plotted  against  Elizabeth ; and  Sir 
Horatio  Pallavicino,  merchant  and  political  agent,  who 
came  to  England  in  the  service  of  the  Vatican,  and 
then  identified  himself  in  every  way  with  the  inter- 
ests of  the  country  he  was  to  make  his  home. 

Sir  Antonio  Guidotti  belongs  to  the  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  In  a letter  to  Cromwell, 
written  in  1536,  he  offered  to  bring  over  to  England 
some  silk  weavers  from  Messina ; 2 what  became  of  this 
project  is  unknown.  He  was  one  of  the  Florentine 

1 Sandys,  Speculum  Euro  pee,  Sig.  M.  2 b. 

2 Cot.  Mss.,  Brit.  Mus.,  Vitellius,  B.  XIV,  241. 


270  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


merchants,  however,  whose  trading  ventures  brought 
him  into  close  relations  with  the  king.  He  was  the 
go-between  and  negotiator  of  a loan  of  ^15,000 
made  by  Duke  Cosimo  of  Florence  to  Henry  the 
Eighth,  who  wanted  the  money  for  his  invasion  of 
France.  The  duke  seems  to  have  been  unwilling  at 
first  to  lend  the  money,  but  was  advised  to  do  so 
by  Guidotti,  who  argued  that  it  would  be  to  his 
advantage  in  Italy. 

The  amount  borrowed  was  to  be  paid  back  in  instal- 
ments extending  over  a period  of  thirty  years ; 1 the 
interest  given  was  to  be  twelve  per  cent ; Guidotti 
assured  the  duke  that  it  was  both  a sound  and  profit- 
able investment.  His  own  share,  he  wanted  him  to 
understand,  would  come  in  only  in  the  thanks  he 
should  receive  from  the  duke  and  the  king,  which 
would  compensate  him  amply  for  the  trouble  he  had 
taken  and  the  slander  of  his  enemies.  He  informed 
the  duke  also  that  King  Henry  had  given  him  plated 
money  in  exchange  on  which  a profit  could  be  made, 
as  it  was  greatly  in  demand,  particularly  in  Venice  and 
Pisa.  The  royal  treasurer,  Briam  Tuck  [Sir  Bryan 
Tuke],  was  a very  intimate  friend  of  his  and  he  had 
arranged  the  loan  with  him.  Guidotti  himself  had 
borrowed  of  him  five  thousand  ducats,  Cavalcanti  and 
Giraldi,  the  duke’s  London  correspondents,  vouching 
for  him.2  From  subsequent  letters  it  would  appear 
that  Guidotti  had  a falling-out  of  some  sort  with  the 

1 Carteggio  Universale  Mediceo,  Arch.  Flor.,  341. 

2 Vide  Filza  Med.,  371  Cte.,  3/4,  55. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  27 1 


London  agents  for  he  wrote  the  duke  that  he  had  been 
warned  against  them.  He  feared  that  if  the  affair  fell 
through  he  would  lose  the  king’s  consideration  entirely  ; 
but  the  loan,  he  felt  sure,  possessed  too  many  advan- 
tages to  fail.  The  thousand  ducats  profits  which  he 
acknowledged  he  expected  to  make  on  the  negotia- 
tions, he  hoped  to  give  as  dowry  to  his  eighteen-year- 
old  daughter,  who  was  still  in  a convent,  and  whom  he 
wanted  to  marry  off  as  soon  as  possible.  He  assured 
the  duke  that  the  king  bore  him  great  good  will,  and 
held  him  in  greater  consideration  than  any  of  the  other 
princes  of  Italy.  This  he  could  say  without  any  flattery 
at  all,  as  few  knew  the  king  better  than  he  did.  He 
had  been  about  this  affair  for  the  last  three  years, 
and  almost  ruined  himself  over  it.  If  it  were  to  fall 
through  now,  it  would  break  his  heart,  and  he  implored 
the  duke  to  have  pity  on  him  and  on  his  little  chil- 
dren. There  is  a curious  combination  in  all  these 
letters  of  personal  appeals  and  business  considera- 
tions : at  one  time  he  proclaimed  total  disinterested- 
ness in  the  matter,  and  then  confessed  that  unless  the 
loan  should  materialize  he  would  be  virtually  a ruined 
man ; elsewhere  again  he  brought  in  his  own  personal 
affairs,  and  tried  to  interest  the  duke  in  them ; it 
was  a strange  spectacle,  however,  to  see  a reigning 
prince  occupied  with  business  transactions  and  lending 
money  at  a remunerative  rate  of  interest  to  another 
sovereign. 

Guidotti  at  last  wrote  the  duke  that  there  was  grave 
danger  lest  the  king  of  Portugal  might  lend  the 


272  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


money  to  Henry.  This  evidently  settled  matters,  for 
in  a letter  to  his  agent  in  London1  the  duke  wrote 
that  he  had  definitely  accepted  the  proposition.  The 
payments  were  to  be  made  by  Bartholomew  Fortini,2  the 
agent  of  the  firm  of  Cavalcanti  and  Giraldi  in  London. 
The  instructions  were  given  and  explained  in  Latin 
letters  to  Sir  Bryan  Tuke,  the  royal  treasurer.3  Anto- 
nio Guidotti  himself  received  a pension  in  1550  for  his 
services,4  and  was  later  knighted  by  Edward  the  Sixth.5 
On  his  return  to  Florence  he  is  said  to  have  been 
publicly  welcomed,  and  to  have  received  the  con- 
gratulations of  the  entire  city.  He  left  his  family 
in  England,  however,  and  a letter  of  Queen  Mary  to 
Cosimo6  requested  the  duke  to  see  to  it  that  Guidotti, 
who  had  been  given  an  ample  pension,  should  provide 
for  his  wife,  Dorothy  Guidotti,  and  her  three  chil- 
dren, who  were  then  living  in  great  poverty.  The  later 
history  of  the  loan  can  be  quickly  told.  In  1558 
Elizabeth  wrote  the  duke  that  she  wished  to  pay  it.7 
No  immediate  steps  seem  at  first  to  have  been  taken  ; 
but  a few  years  later  she  began  payment  of  the  loan, 
and  made  good  the  money  her  father  had  borrowed.8 
Elizabeth,  it  may  be  said,  took  good  care  to  protect 
and  foster  English  trade  and  shipping,  which  was  still 
in  its  infancy.  Many  of  her  communications  to  the 

1 Arch.  Flor.,  Arch.  Med.  Minute  del  1 szK,  filza  No.  6. 

2 Ibid.  1 1bid.,  f.  16. 

8 Arch.  Med.,  372  Cte.,  258  et  seq.  8 Ibid. 

4 Lit.  Rem.  of  Ed.  VI,  II,  256. 

6 Correspondence  of  Sir  Thomas  Copley,  p.  112. 

6 Arch.  Med.,  4183,  f.  9. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  273 


Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  relate  to  commerce,  and  she 
tried  to  obtain  special  trading  facilities  for  her  sub- 
jects.1 

Ruberto  Ridolfi,  banker  and  conspirator,  belongs 
rather  to  the  type  of  Italian  who  refused  to  identify 
himself  with  the  interests  of  the  country  in  which  he 
had  for  so  many  years  made  his  home.  He  used  the 
position  he  had  acquired  in  banking  circles  to  plot 
against  Queen  Elizabeth,  although  he  was  shrewd 
enough  to  escape  detection  while  his  fellow  conspira- 
tors perished  on  the  scaffold.  He  was  employed  in 
various  ways  by  Sir  William  Cecil  and  the  crown,  and 
at  the  same  time  supplied  English  information  to  the 
French  and  Spanish  ambassadors,  receiving  pensions 
from  both.  Protestant  England  meant  to  him  the 
enemy’s  country,  and  his  life  there  was  that  of  an  in- 
triguer and  spy,  shielding  his  own  work  behind  that 
of  nobler  men  who  gave  up  their  lives  for  the  Catholic 
cause.  Ridolfi’s  career  in  contrast  with  that  of  Pal- 
lavicino  explains  how  difficult  it  is  to  draw  general- 
izations. Of  the  two  Italians,  both  prominent  in 
England,  the  one  refused  to  assimilate  himself  in 
any  way,  the  other  became  to  all  purposes  an 
Englishman. 

Sir  Horatio  Pallavicino,  a Genoese  by  birth,  was  one 
of  the  most  interesting  men  of  his  time.  He  had  first 
gone  to  England  recommended  to  Mary,  who  was  then 
queen.  Having  received  an  appointment  as  collector 
of  papal  taxes,  he  turned  Protestant,  kept  what  he  had 

1 Arch.  Med.,  4183,  ff.  26,  54. 

T 


274  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


collected,1  and  became  one  of  the  great  merchants  of 
the  day,  lending  money  at  usurious  rates  of  interest  to 
Elizabeth  and  Henry  of  Navarre.  He  was  even  said 
to  have  saved  the  English  monarchs  from  ruin  on  one 
occasion.  In  addition  to  his  banking  business,  he  was 
a great  collector  of  political  intelligence.  His  many 
correspondents  enabled  him  to  secure  information 
ahead  of  others,  and  he  was  often  employed  by  the 
government  to  furnish  foreign  news.2  He  was  natu- 
ralized an  Englishman,  and  at  the  time  of  the  Armada 
equipped  a vessel  at  his  own  expense  and  was  present 
as  a volunteer.  Anxious,  as  he  wrote  in  a letter  to 
Cecil,  to  show  his  devotion  to  the  queen  and  to  Eng- 
land, he  decided  that  his  best  service  could  be  done 
by  sea ; he  was  easily  able  to  provide  himself  with 
what  was  necessary  for  a naval  battle,  and  trusted  the 
lord  admiral  would  give  him,  as  he  had  promised, 
one  of  the  queen’s  ships  to  command.3  In  1589  he 
tried  political  intrigue  of  his  own,  to  upset  the  Spanish 
rule  in  the  Netherlands;4  and  several  of  his  cipher 
letters  to  Burghley  on  affairs  of  state  are  still  preserved.® 
His  chief  occupation,  however,  was  the  negotiation  of 
loans  for  the  British  and  Dutch  governments.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  the  queen  owed  him  ^29,000, 

1 An  epitaph  written  after  his  death  read  : — 

“ Here  lies  Horatio  Palavazene 

Who  robbed  the  Pope  to  lend  the  queen.” 

2 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  IV  passim. 

8 Ibid.,  IV,  563. 

4 Motley,  United  Netherlands,  II,  539  et  seq. 

5 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  III  passim. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  275 

which  was  never  fully  repaid  to  his  heirs  by  the  gov- 
ernment. Money  from  the  queen  had  been  due  for 
some  time,  and  there  are  many  memoranda  of  such 
debts.  Already,  in  1593,  she  owed  him  ^30,000; 
two  years  he  begged  for  payment1  which  was  not 
forthcoming.  His  brothers,  he  wrote,  had  suffered 
much  in  Italy  for  the  sake  of  her  Majesty,  and  the 
debt  in  question  was  the  better  part  of  their  patri- 
mony as  well  as  the  means  of  maintaining  their  dignity. 
Regarding  the  interest  on  the  debt,  although  by  no 
means  small,  he  submitted  himself  entirely  to  the 
queen’s  pleasure,  but  begged  that  the  loan  might 
soon  be  settled,  otherwise  he  feared  that  his  brothers 
would  seize  as  security  the  merchandise  of  English 
subjects  and  thereby  incur  her  displeasure.  In  this 
letter  he  alluded  to  the  bond  of  the  City  of  London 
as  “the  first  to-day  in  Europe.” 

Pallavicino  throughout  his  life  acted  the  part  of  a 
patriotic  Englishman,  and  maintained  his  position  with 
dignity  and  honor.  He  was  on  terms  of  friendship 
with  Cecil,  who  reminded  him  in  one  letter2  of  the 
reputation  he  enjoyed  at  court ; Lord  Buckhurst  also 
in  a letter  to  Elizabeth’s  great  minister  spoke  of  him 
as  his  friend.3  In  the  correspondence  which  passed 
between  Pallavicino  and  Cecil,  he  told  the  latter  that 
he  would  like  his  son  Henry  to  pass  under  his  guardian- 
ship,4 and  later  sent  him  another  son,5  Edward,  whom 

1 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House , IV,  444.  V,  462. 

4 Ibid.,  IV,  609.  s Ibid.,  IV,  552.  4 Ibid.,  V,  248. 

6 Ibid.,  VI,  175. 


276  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


he  had  promised  to  take  into  his  service.  He  trusted 
that  he  would  find  use  for  his  pen  as  well  as  for  his 
body.  He  was  evidently  anxious  to  become  Angli- 
cized in  every  way,  and  even  wrote  Cecil1  that  he 
wanted  to  marry  his  sisters-in-law  to  Englishmen 
according  to  arrangements  he  had  made,  but  that 
they  were  timid.  His  own  family,  by  a rather  remark- 
able series  of  alliances,  married  Cromwells,  and  broke 
away  entirely  from  their  Italian  ties. 

Pallavicino  was  a remarkable  character  in  many 
ways.  Not  only  was  he  banker  and  political  agent, 
but  Italian  architect  as  well  to  Queen  Elizabeth. 
At  his  death  Theophilus  Field  wrote  and  edited  An 
Italian's  Dead  Body,  a book  of  elegies  on  the  death 
of  Sir  Horatio  Pallavicino,  and  Bishop  Hall  contrib- 
uted verses  to  his  memory.  But  he  was  remarkable 
in  showing  that,  in  spite  of  somewhat  evil  beginnings, 
he  could  become  a loyal  and  patriotic  Englishman, 
ready  to  do  his  duty  to  his  adopted  country.  Ideas 
had  greatly  changed  since  the  days  of  Antonio 
Bonvisi.  Italy  had  retrograded,  crushed  by  foreign 
oppression ; and  England  had  advanced,  and  asserted 
her  place  in  the  first  rank  of  nations.  She  had 
destroyed  the  invincible  Armada,  and  her  sailors  had 
singed  the  beard  of  the  king  of  Spain.  English  gold 
and  English  arms  on  the  Continent  were  now  lend- 
ing aid  to  the  Protestants  in  France  and  the  Low 
Countries.  Italians  therefore  needed  no  longer  to 
be  ashamed  to  seek  another  nationality.  Excepting 

1 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  V,  2. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  277 

Venice,  which  was  even  then  in  its  decline,  the 
other  cities  of  Italy  retained  scarce  a shadow  of 
their  former  power.  Their  earlier  commercial  su- 
premacy was  a thing  of  the  past ; Elizabeth  might  still 
borrow  huge  sums  from  a Pallavicino  or  a Spinola,1 
but  the  crown  was  no  longer  dependent  on  Italian 
bankers  alone,  whose  capital  had  been  accumulated 
in  former  years.  The  growing  resources  of  England 
were  coming  into  play,  and  English  industry  and 
commerce,  wisely  encouraged,  were  forging  to  the 
front.  It  is  therefore  scarcely  surprising  that  the 
Italians  who  settled  in  England  should  seek  to 
identify  themselves  with  the  new  nation,  rather  than 
cling  to  their  own  decaying  cities.  Fanatics  and 
zealots  like  Ridolfi  might  still  remain  irreconcilably 
hostile,  but  the  wiser,  the  more  far-sighted  among 
them  saw  that  the  old  sun  had  set  and  a new  star 
was  above  the  horizon.  They  could  throw  in  their 
lot  with  England,  and  of  their  English  citizenship 
justly  feel  proud. 

VI 

There  was  another  way  in  which  Italians  may  be 
said  to  have  influenced  English  trade  and  commerce. 
Not  only  did  the  example  of  Italian  bankers  and  mer- 
chants give  Englishmen  a knowledge  of  commercial 
methods  such  as  had  hitherto  been  unknown  to 
them,  but  Italian  navigators  and  explorers,  and  Italian 
geographers  and  writers  of  travel,  prepared  the  way  for 

1 Hist.  Ms.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  II,  356. 


278  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

Englishmen  to  follow,  and  distinguish  themselves  in  the 
deeds  of  daring  which  marked  the  closing  years  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

It  would  be  idle  to  dwell  here  on  the  numerous 
Italian  explorers  and  navigators.  Columbus,  who 
gave  a new  continent  to  Spain,  was  but  the  greatest 
of  a long  line  of  Italian  navigators.  In  England, 
as  is  well  known,  the  elder  Cabot,  who  was  Genoese 
by  birth,  Venetian  by  citizenship,  English  by  adop- 
tion, sailed  from  Bristol  to  discover  the  American 
coast  in  his  attempt  to  reach  India.  His  daring  son 
commanded  the  first  English  ship  to  visit  the  West 
Indies  land  South  America,  and  he  was  later  made  life 
governor  of  the  Company  of  Merchant  Adventurers. 
But  long  before  the  Cabots  first  led  English  sailors 
on  paths  of  adventure  and  exploration,  Venetian  and 
Genoese  galleys  between  Southampton  and  other 
ports  acted  as  carriers  for  English  merchandise. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  example,  com- 
bined with  the  natural  seafaring  inclination  of  the 
race,  led  Englishmen  to  ply  the  trade  which  was  so 
successful  in  enriching  Italians.  English  shipping, 
moreover,  was  greatly  encouraged  by  the  wise  regu- 
lations of  Henry  the  Seventh,  who  tried  to  foster 
and  protect  the  new  source  of  national  wealth. 

But  the  influence  and  example  here  to  be  con- 
sidered was  rather  a literary  one,  derived  from  the 
books  of  exploration  and  travels.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  Florentine,  Amerigo  Vespucci,  whose  name 
has  been  given  to  the  new  continent,  wrote  the  first 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  279 


account  of  it.  Italian  geographers  and  cosmographers 
were  then  far  ahead  of  those  of  other  nations.  It  is 
scarcely  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  some  of  the 
first  English  books  of  travel  in  the  Renaissance  were 
translations  from  Italian  works.  Already,  in  1550-51, 
William  Thomas  dedicated  to  the  king,  as  his  New 
Year’s  gift,  a translation  of  Josaphat  Barbara’s  Ac- 
count of  his  Voyages  to  the  East,  published  in  Venice 
in  1543.  A more  interesting  and  important  work, 
however,  was  to  be  published  a few  years  later,  The 
Decades  of  the  New  World,  by  Pietro  Martire  d’An- 
ghiera,1  one  of  the  principal  authorities  on  the  settle- 
ment of  America  to  this  day.2  A second  and  more 
complete  edition  (in  spite  of  its  omitting  several  of 
the  earlier  accounts)  appeared  some  twenty  years 
later.3  The  book  was  a general  history  of  travel  and 
exploration  from  the  time  of  Columbus,  compiled 
by  Peter  Martyr,  an  Italian  by  birth,  who,  like  many 
of  his  compatriots,  had  gone  into  the  service  of  the 
king  of  Spain,  where  he  became  president  of  the  Royal 
Council  for  the  West  Indies,  and  collected  narratives 
of  the  great  explorers  in  the  Spanish  service.  To  the 

1 The  Decades  of  the  New  World,  by  Peter  Martyr  of  Angleria, 
translated  into  English  by  Richard  Eden,  1555. 

2 Vide  J.  G.  Underhill,  Spanish  Literature  in  the  England  of 
the  Tudors,  p.  124,  for  the  Spanish  influence  in  Elizabethan 
books  of  travel. 

3 The  History  of  Travel  in  the  West  and  East  Indies,  and 
other  countries.  . . . With  a discourse  of  the  northwest 
passage.  . . . Translated  by  Richard  Eden  and  by  Richard 
Willes,  1577. 


280  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

original  edition,  translated  by  Richard  Eden,  Willes 
added  the  travels  of  Luigi  Vertomanno  of  Rome,  in 
Arabia,  Persia,  Syria,  and  other  countries  of  the  Orient, 
and  a description  of  Northeast  Frosty  Seas  as  related 
by  the  ambassador  of  the  Duke  of  Muscovy  to  a learned 
gentleman  of  Italy  named  Galeatius  Butrigarius,  who 
had  written  them  down.  An  account  was  added  of 
the  voyages  “ of  that  worthy  old  man,  Sebastian 
Cabot,”  and  several  other  translations  as  well  from 
the  Italian,  as,  for  instance,  a description  of  China 
by  Galeotto  Perera,  who  had  been  a prisoner  there. 
One  of  the  few  English  records  in  the  book  consisted 
of  extracts  from  Anthony  Jenkinson’s  Jourtiey  to 
Persia  in  1561,  where  he  had  been  sent  as  ambas- 
sador “With  the  Queen’s  Majesty’s  letters  in  the 
Latin,  Italian,  and  Hebrew  tongue  to  the  great  Sophy 
and  King  of  Persia.” 

The  most  interesting  portion  of  the  work  related 
to  Columbus’  discovery  of  America.'  A description 
was  given  of  the  new  territories  and  their  riches, 
well  calculated  to  inflame  the  Elizabethan  imagina- 
tion. In  the  epistle  to  the  reader,  Willes  bade  him 
“ consider  the  fruits,  the  drugs,  the  pearls,  the  treas- 
ure, the  millions  of  gold  and  silver,  the  Spaniards 
have  brought  out  of  the  West  Indies  since  the  first 
voyage  of  Columbus.  . . . The  north  western  voyage 
be  it  never  so  full  of  difficulties  will  become  as  plau- 
sible as  any  other  journey,  if  our  passengers  may 
return  with  plenty  of  silver,  silks  and  pearl.  Let 
Columbus,  Americus,  Cortesius,  be  well  set.  forth 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  28 1 


again  and  bountifully  rewarded,  you  shall  hear  of 
other  and  new  found  lands  yet  altogether  un- 
known.” 

Other  books  were  translated  from  the  Italian,  such 
as  the  travels  of  Cesare  Federici,  a Venetian  mer- 
chant in  the  Orient.1  The  author  had  spent  eighteen 
years  in  the  far  East,  and  as  he  thought  the  subject 
new  and  never  before  treated,  he  gave  an  account 
of  the  princes  of  the  Indies,  their  religious  faith, 
rites,  customs,  and  also  a description  of  the  products 
of  the  countries.  Both  the  novelty  and  rarity  of  the 
subject  attracted  the  translator,  who  apologized  for 
his  want  of  learning  and  use  of  the  ordinary  speech; 
his  purpose  had  been  that  English  merchants  and 
his  other  countrymen  might  profit  by  the  book,  and 
he  prophesied  great  wealth  for  those  who  travelled 
in  these  regions. 

In  Italy,  long  before  the  rest  of  Europe,  geography 
had  received  the  same  stimulus  as  other  arts  and 
sciences,  and  the  superiority  of  Italians  in  its 
study  over  all  other  nations  was  long  maintained. 
Italy,  in  the  Renaissance,  continued  to  be  the  home 
of  geographical  literature,  at  a time  when  the  dis- 
coverers themselves  came  almost  exclusively  from  the 
countries  of  Western  Europe.  In  the  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  Italian  maps  were  in  advance  of 
any  others,  and  even  much  later  a portion  of  Botero’s 

1 The  Voyage  and  Travel  of  M.  Cesare  Frederick,  Merchant 
of  Venice  into  the  East  India,  the  Indies,  and  beyond  the  Indies. 
. . . Translated  by  T(homas)  H(ickok),  1588. 


282  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


great  work  on  the  geography  of  the  world  was  trans- 
lated into  English.1 

It  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  the  accounts  of 
the  great  Italian  navigators  and  explorers  led  Eliza- 
bethan seamen  to  similar  deeds  of  daring.  At  the 
same  time,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  example 
set  by  a Columbus  or  a Cabot,  or  the  descriptions  of 
a Vespucci,  did  much  to  fan  their  smouldering  love 
of  adventure.  The  venturesome  tendencies  of  the 
nation  could  no  longer  be  kept  in,  when  once  it 
had  heard  or  read  the  deeds  of  others.  In  this,  also, 
Italy  led  the  way  for  Western  Europe  to  follow.  The 
art  of  Michael  Angelo  or  Leonardo,  the  statecraft 
of  Machiavelli,  the  poetry  of  Ariosto,  the  discov- 
eries of  Columbus,  seem  widely  separated  at  first 
glance,  looking  back  from  modern  times ; yet  they 
were  but  different  phases  of  the  same  movement. 
The  energy  which  could  not  be  restrained,  the  daring 
which  knew  no  bounds,  the  desire  to  tread  still  virgin 
soil,  the  striving  toward  perfection,  were  all  charac- 
teristic of  the  Italian  Renaissance. 

In  Italy,  after  the  age  of  action  was  once  over, 
there  followed  a more  critical  period  when  the  adven- 
tures of  former  times  were  digested  and  studied,  and 
geography,  enriched  by  many  discoveries,  became  a 
science.  At  a time  when  the  countries  of  Western 
Europe  were  sending  their  expeditions  to  distant  seas, 

1 The  Travellers'  Breviat,  or  an  historical  description  of  the 
most  famous  kingdoms  in  the  world.  Translated  by  Robert 
Johnson  from  Botero,  1601. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  283 

in  search  of  gold,  or  to  look  for  the  western  passage 
to  Cathay,  Italian  activity  of  this  sort  had  narrowed 
almost  to  a critical  one  alone.  Their  geographers  were 
now  supreme,  where  once  their  navigators  had  been. 

This  was,  then,  the  period  when  Italian  books  of 
travel  and  adventure  were  translated  into  English, 
and  inflamed  the  Elizabethan  imagination  with  their 
tales  of  riches  and  conquest.  Just  as  Italian  bankers 
and  merchants  had  first  shown  England  the  possi- 
bilities of  commercial  life,  so  too  in  exploration  and 
adventure  their  example  proved  a powerful  one. 
Even  then,  in  the  age  of  the  hardy  Elizabethan  sea- 
men, the  trade  of  Italy  was  not  dead.  Venice  was 
in  many  ways  what  England  is  to-day ; her  colonies 
formed  a colonial  empire  governed  by  a merchant 
aristocracy.  Although  the  trade  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
the  new  passage  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  no 
longer  left  Venice  the  highway  for  direct  intercourse 
with  the  East,  the  position  she  had  taken  centuries 
to  build  was  not  lost  in  a day.  The  knowledge  of 
the  Orient  came  first  from  Italy  to  England.  It  was 
through  Venice  that  English  ambassadors  and  mer- 
chants passed  on  their  way  to  Constantinople  and 
the  Orient.  It  was  Venice  which  brought  East  and 
West  together  in  a common  bond  of  trade. 

The  Italian  influence  in  England  through  com- 
merce was  most  important.  The  mere  presence  in 
a city  such  as  London  of  a number  of  foreign  mer- 
chants, trained  in  superior  methods,  possessing  greater 
skill  in  commerce  than  had  heretofore  been  known, 


284  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


could  not  but  influence,  by  their  example,  the  native 
community.  Even  to  this  day  many  Italian  commer- 
cial terms  have  remained  in  English  use  : debtor  and 
creditor,  for  instance;  cash  from  cassa ; journal  from 
giornale ; bank  and  bankrupt,  from  banco  and  banco- 
rotto  ; the  abbreviations  for  liri,  soldi  and  denari,  and 
that  of  company  on  the  Bank  of  England  notes,  and  the 
oft-recurring  ditto,  which  should  be  spelled  with  an  e 
instead  of  an  i.1  When,  toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  English  succeeded  in  freeing  themselves 
from  their  foreign  competitors,  who  had  once  enjoyed 
almost  a monopoly  of  banking  and  the  commerce  of 
other  countries,  it  was  due  as  much  to  their  growing 
technical  and  commercial  capacity  as  to  the  trade 
regulations  enforced  by  the  government.2  Alongside 
of  the  growth  in  native  enterprise,  and  of  commer- 
cial ideas  in  England,  and  running  parallel  with  it, 
a great  change  had  taken  place  in  the  Italian  mer- 
chants in  England.  Coming  over  at  first  for  a tem- 
porary sojourn  in  what  they  then  regarded  as  a 
barbarous  country,  whose  inhabitants,  ignorant  of 
the  broader  elements  of  commerce,  hated  them  for 
their  success,  they  gradually  settled  in  the  land,  and 
many  of  them  became  English  in  their  sentiments 
and  devotion.  At  the  same  time,  by  their  residence 
and  example,  they  did  much  to  teach  ideas  of  trade 
to  the  English.  They  had  been  merchants  when 

1 Burgon,  op.  cit.,  I,  282,  note. 

2 Vide  Hamburg  und  England  in  Zeitalter  der  Konigin 
Elizabeth,  Richard  Ehrenberg,  1896. 


THE  ITALIAN  MERCHANT  IN  ENGLAND  285 


elsewhere  in  Europe  trade  was  still  despised.  Their 
industry  and  enterprise  in  foreign  parts  had  amassed 
wealth  for  them  through  the  long  years  when  other 
nations  were  still  in  the  Middle  Ages.  In  commerce, 
as  in  art  and  science,  they  discovered  the  new  life, 
recognizing  possibilities  which  lay  open  to  them, 
and  the  new  foundation  for  the  work  of  nations  as 
of  men.  Italian  city  republics  first  in  modern  times 
had  grasped  the  idea  of  a navy  necessary  to  protect 
their  shipping  and  uphold  their  interests.  The 
energy,  the  vigor,  the  daring  and  courage  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance  found  itself  reflected  no  less 
strongly  in  the  history  of  its  merchants  and  explorers, 
than  in  the  works  of  its  painters  and  poets.  In 
commerce,  as  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  Italy  held 
up  the  guiding  light  for  the  rest  of  Europe  to  follow. 


CHAPTER  VII 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  AND  HISTORICAL  IDEAS 
IN  ENGLAND 

I 

The  transition  effected  by  the  Wars  of  the  Roses, 
which  led  to  the  firm  foundation  of  the  Tudor  mon- 
archy under  Henry  the  Seventh,  marked  the  transfor- 
mation of  England  from  a feudal  state  to  a centralized 
government  under  a prince  possessing  practically  abso- 
lute power.  It  was  characteristic  of  the  period  that 
similar  changes  were  taking  place  about  the  same  time 
in  both  France  and  Spain,  where  the  decaying  ideas  of 
the  Middle  Ages  were  gradually  becoming  obscured 
by  new  conceptions,  whose  theoretical  foundation  at 
least  was  made  possible  by  the  revival  of  classical 
antiquity. 

One  of  the  most  significant  changes  in  the  history 
of  civilization  is  that,  while  in  modern  times  the  study 
of  antiquity  has  suggested  rather  the  Athenian  democ- 
racy and  Roman  republic,  it  was  otherwise  in  past 
centuries,  when,  from  the  time  of  the  revival  of 
Roman  law  at  Bologna  and  Padua,  the  memory  of 
imperial  Rome  was  always  present  to  the  mind 
of  the  student  and  political  dreamer.  It  was  per- 
286 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  287 

haps  for  this  reason,  in  part,  that  the  new  humanism 
obtained  its  first  patrons  among  Italian  despots,  whose 
example  was  later  imitated  in  other  countries  of 
Europe.  Classical  learning  did  not  appear  to  them 
as  a dangerous  model  which  might  incite  their  sub- 
jects to  strike  for  liberty,  but  rather  a justification, 
in  an  age  of  reason,  of  the  same  despotic  power  they 
were  then  endeavoring  to  wield.  At  a time  when 
precedent  and  tradition  counted  for  so  much,  they 
sought  to  find  in  the  example  of  great  men  of  former 
times  the  sanction,  as  it  were,  of  the  power  which 
in  many  instances  they  had  obtained  by  the  most 
unscrupulous  means.  This  was  especially  the  case 
in  Italy,  where  classical  tradition  was  stronger  than 
in  any  other  country.  It  would,  however,  be  a mis- 
take to  suppose  that  princes  elsewhere  were  insensible 
to  the  advantages  of  a patronage  of  learned  men, 
ready  to  find  an  ancient  pedigree  for  their  methods  of 
government.  The  historical  resemblances,  which  could 
in  all  cases  be  discovered  between  their  own  rule  and 
that  of  the  princes  of  classical  antiquity,  must  natu- 
rally have  appealed  to  them  at  a time  when  they  were 
endeavoring  to  strip  the  nobility  of  their  feudal  power 
in  order  to  centralize  it  in  themselves.  In  such  pat- 
ronage, moreover,  they  could  feel  that  they  were  fol- 
lowing in  the  footsteps  of  an  Augustus  or  a Hadrian, 
with  whom  the  claims  of  an  empire  had  not  destroyed 
an  appreciation  of  letters  and  the  arts. 

From  another  point  of  view,  as  well,  it  is  apparent 
that  Italian  scholars  and  humanists  could  hope  to  find 


28 8 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


a ready  welcome  at  foreign  courts.  Not  only  were  they 
first  in  the  field,  but  the  encouragement  received 
at  the  hands  of  a Montefeltro  or  a Malatesta  must 
have  spurred  them  on  to  similar  conquests.  Beyond 
the  Alps  the  whole  of  Europe  stretched  before  them, 
while  the  competition  among  learned  men  diminished 
where  their  numbers  were  few.  The  fact,  moreover, 
that  they  were  aliens,  with  no  ties  binding  them  to  the 
soil,  and  dependent  only  on  the  good  will  of  their 
patron,  favored  them  with  princes,  who  often  did  not 
dare  trust  their  half-submissive  noblemen. 

Beginning  about  1460,  the  new  centralized  power 
at  the  court  encouraged  the  growth  of  letters.  Ed- 
ward the  Fourth  laid  the  foundation  of  the  new 
monarchy  in  England;  he  practically  discontinued 
Parliament  and  worked  silently  toward  absolute  power ; 
he  introduced  a system  of  spies,  and  even  interfered 
with  the  pure  administration  of  justice.  But  he  also 
encouraged  Caxton  in  the  new  art  of  printing,  and 
gave  directions  that  no  hindrance  be  placed  on  any 
stranger  who  might  import  or  sell  books  in  the  king- 
dom. He  was  the  first  in  England  of  the  new  type 
of  princes  who  broke  loose  from  the  feudal  traditions 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  endeavored  to  centralize 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  monarch  alone,  and  make 
of  him  at  once  an  absolute  ruler  and  a patron  of  arts 
and  letters,  although  like  many  of  the  Italian  despots, 
he  united  utter  unscrupulousness  with  pultivation.  But 
stormy  days  were  still  at  hand,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
accession  of  Henry  the  Seventh  that  the  position  of 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  289 

learning  began  to  be  secure.  Although  life  gave  Henry 
but  little  opportunity  for  culture,  his  tastes  were  all 
inclined  toward  the  patronage  of  literature  and  art. 
What  he  did  most  successfully  was  to  play  in  England 
the  role  of  an  Italian  despot.  The  best  contemporary 
appreciation  of  his  methods  and  character  has,  per- 
haps, for  this  reason  been  written  by  the  Italian, 
Polydore  Vergil. 

Edward  the  Fourth  conferred  the  highest  English 
distinction,  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  upon  Duke  Fred- 
erick of  Urbino.  The  same  honor  was  later  granted 
by  Henry  the  Seventh  to  Duke  Guidobaldo.  There 
were  other  evidences  of  his  desire  to  be  on  a friendly 
footing  with  Italian  princes,  even  though  they  could 
be  of  little  direct  advantage  to  him.  His  corre- 
spondence, for  instance,  with  the  Estensi  of  Fer- 
rara, and  the  frequent  employment  of  Italians  in  his 
service,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  were  sym- 
pathetic to  his  nature.  His  policy,  moreover,  in  its 
steady  direction  toward  an  absolute  despotism,  had 
been  made  familiar  by  Italian  examples.  While  it 
would  be  going  too  far  to  say  that  he  held  any  Italian 
model  consciously  before  him  in  his  creation  of  the 
Tudor  monarchy,  it  seems  likely  that  the  political 
methods  and  ideas  of  Italy  were  present  in  his  mind 
as  he  labored  to  strengthen  his  rule. 

Polydore  Vergil,  soon  after  he  had  taken  up  his 
residence  in  London,  became  intimate  with  Henry 
the  Seventh,  at  whose  request  he  is  said  to  have  written 
his  history  of  England,  on  which  he  was  to  spend 
u 


290  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


almost  thirty  years  of  his  life.  It  was  not  the  first 
English  historical  work  by  an  Italian ; Tito  Livio  of 
Forli,  “poet  and  orator  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,” 
had  long  before  written  a life  of  Henry  the  Fifth.1 
Polydore  Vergil,  however,  in  spite  of  his  poor  reputa- 
tion for  veracity,2 *  was  the  first  to  employ  modern 
methods  in  English  history,  and  attempt  to  weigh 
authorities,  summarize  character,  and  tell  a connected 
story.  The  historical  method  he  employed  was  far 
in  advance  of  anything  England  had  known.  The 
first  part  of  the  book  roused  national  prejudices ; he 
discarded  Brute,  the  reputed  founder  of  England,  as 
an  imaginary  character,  and  treated  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth’s history  as  a combination  of  fact  and  fable, 
on  which  but  little  reliance  could  be  placed.8  Vergil’s 
history,  however,  recorded  not  only  political  events, 
but  such  facts  as  the  introduction  of  the  new  learning 
into  England.  It  was  of  especial  value  for  its  ac- 
count of  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  with  whose 
aims  and  character  he  sympathized.  His  work,  in  spite 
of  numerous  errors  which  can  be  excused  by  reason 
of  his  ignorance  of  English  dialects  and  customs,  was 
a contribution  of  real  importance.  A letter  of  his  to 
James  the  Fourth  of  Scotland  is  significant  as  show- 
ing the  method  he  employed  in  writing.4 *  He  had 

1 Voigt,  II,  255. 

2 Cf.  “ Maro  and  Polydore  bore  Vergil’s  name; 

One  reaps  a poet’s,  one  a liar’s  fame.” 

8 Three  Books  of  Vergil’s  English  History,  Camden  Society, 

1844.  Introduction.  4 Cal.  St.  Pap.,  Henry  VIII,  I,  105. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  29 1 

visited  England,  he  said,  largely  to  see  the  country 
and  study  its  antiquities.  He  had  been  so  surprised  to 
find  its  history  confused,  and  unknown  even  to  English- 
men, that  he  determined,  in  consequence,  to  write  a 
short  chronicle,  which  was  now  finished.  Very  few 
references  to  Scotland  had  been  made,  since 
there  was  no  good  author  to  follow.  He  therefore 
requested  King  James  to  furnish  him  either  with 
annals  of  the  country,  or  with  the  names  and  lives 
of  Scottish  kings,  his  own  amongst  the  number. 

With  all  its  blunders,  the  history  enjoyed  consider- 
able influence.  Vergil’s  personal  animosity  to  Wolsey 
led  him,  however,  to  defame  the  great  cardinal’s 
character ; his  opinion  was  passed  on  from  one 
English  historian  to  another,  Hall  taking  it  from 
Vergil,  Foxe  from  Hall,  Burnet  and  Strype  from  Foxe, 
Hume  from  Burnet,  and  so  on.1  But  English  history 
owed  a real  debt  to  Polydore  Vergil.  In  the  dedica- 
tion of  his  work  to  Henry  the  Eighth  he  compared 
the  early  chronicles  of  Bede  and  Gildas  to  meat  with- 
out the  salt,  which  it  was  his  object  to  supply ; but 
recognizing  their  value,  he  edited  Gildas  for  the  first 
time  in  1525.  Alike  in  his  methods  and  in  his  use  of 
material  he  ushered  the  new  study  of  history  into 
England. 

II 

The  influence  of  Machiavelli  first  entered  England 
with  Thomas  Cromwell.  Like  many  other  English- 
men of  the  age,  Cromwell  probably  took  part  in  the 

1 Brewer,  Henry  VIII,  I,  264  et  seq. 


292  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Italian  wars  and  there  learned  the  language.  From 
soldiering  he  became  a trader,  and  acted  as  commer- 
cial agent  to  a Venetian  merchant.  In  after  years, 
when  he  became  minister,  it  appears  to  have  been 
Italy  that  left  its  deepest  stamp  on  him.  Not  only,  it 
was  said,  “ in  the  rapidity  and  unscrupulousness  of  his 
designs,  but  in  their  larger  scope,  their  clearer  purpose 
and  admirable  combination,  the  Italian  statecraft  en- 
tered with  Cromwell  into  English  politics.” 1 He  was 
the  first  English  minister  in  whom  there  can  be  traced 
the  steady  working  out  of  a great  and  definite  aim  to 
raise  the  king  to  absolute  authority  on  the  ruins  of 
every  rival  power  within  the  realm.  His  policy  was 
closely  modelled  on  the  lines  laid  down  by  Machiavelli. 
While  still  in  the  employ  of  Wolsey,  he  advised  Regi- 
nald Pole  to  read  as  his  manual  in  politics  The 
Prince  which  he  possessed  in  manuscript  even 
before  it  had  been  published  in  Italy,  and  which  he 
described  as  a practical  work  on  government  far  more 
useful  than  the  dreams  of  Plato.2  His  own  aim  was 
to  secure  peace  and  order  for  England  by  central- 
izing all  power  in  the  crown,  and  strengthening  the 
hands  of  the  king.  As  the  church  alone  stood  in  the 
way  of  the  absolute  rule  of  the  king,  the  last  check  that 
had  survived  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  his  unbending 

1 J.  R.  Green,  Short  History  of  England,  p.  335.  For  the 
influence  of  Machiavelli  on  other  English  statesmen,  vide  W. 
Alison  Phillips’  article  in  the  Nineteenth  Century , December, 
1896. 

2 For  Pole’s  opinion  of  Machiavelli,  vide  Epistolce  Reg.  Pole, 
1744,  p.  151. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  293 


efforts  and  energies  were  directed  to  destroying  its 
authority.  His  interest  for  the  present  study  lies,  how- 
ever, in  his  being  the  first  great  English  disciple  of 
Machiavelli. 

Long  before  the  writings  of  Machiavelli  had  as  yet 
been  read  in  England,  or  his  influence  had  made 
itself  felt  in  political  philosophy,  several  other  Italian 
thinkers  were  well  known.  Sir  Thomas  More,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  best 
Italian  thought,  and  fondly  cherished  Pico  della  Mir- 
andola  as  his  one  ideal.  Sir  Thomas  Elyot  was  perhaps 
even  more  affected  by  Italian  philosophy.  The  influ- 
ence of  Pontano,  the  elder  Patrizi,  Pico,  and  many 
minor  writers,  has  been  traced  in  his  Governour / a 
treatise  on  the  education  of  statesmen,  dedicated  to 
Henry  the  Eighth ; to  this  book  Elyot  owed  his  ap- 
pointment as  ambassador  to  Charles  the  Fifth.  The 
Governour  was  one  of  the  earliest  treatises  on  moral 
philosophy  in  English,  although  similar  works  had  been 
written  by  Fortescue  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  in 
Italy,  by  Pontano  and  Beroaldo.  To  Pontano  Elyot 
readily  acknowledged  his  indebtedness  ; but  the  book 
which  he  really  took  as  his  model,  and  borrowed  from 
to  a great  extent,  was  a work  very  popular  at  that 
time,  by  Francesco  Patrizi.2  Between  it  and  The 
Governour  a general  similarity  exists,  and  many 
passages  are  identical,  translated  word  for  word. 

1 Sir  Thomas  Elyot,  The  Governour,  ed.  H.  H.  S.  Croft, 
p.  lxiii  et  seq. 

2 De  Regno  et  Regio  Institutione. 


294  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Elyot  showed  his  familiarity  as  well  with  the  writ- 
ings of  several  Italian  humanists,  such  as  Valla,  Perotto, 
Calepino,  and  many  others  of  less  repute.1  The 
purpose  he  had  in  writing  was  that  the  children  of  the 
upper  classes  should  be  better  educated  in  order  that 
they  too  “may  be  deemed  worthy  to  be  Governours”  ; 
all  this  was  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the  Renaissance. 
The  influence  of  Machiavelli,  however,  had  not  as  yet 
reached  him,  nor  does  he  seem  to  have  been  aware  of 
its  existence. 

Another  English  political  thinker,  somewhat  later  in 
date,  was  John  Ponet  (or  Poynet),  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, who  was  also  familiar  with  Italian,  and  had 
himself  translated  the  Tragedy  of  Ochino.  In  his 
treatise  on  political  power2  he  discussed  the  causes 
of  its  growth,  the  reasons  which  sanctioned  it,  and  its 
proper  use  and  duty.  He  found  a justification  in  the 
law  of  nature  for  all  animals  to  be  ruled  by  a superior 
creature.  Government  he  divided,  like  Aristotle,  into 
monarchy,  aristocracy  and  democracy ; the  state  in 
which  all  three  had  power  was  in  his  judgment  the 
best.  A discussion  followed  as  to  whether  kings, 
princes  and  other  governors  possessed  absolute  power 
and  authority  over  their  subjects  : should  the  prince 
be  subject  to  the  law  of  God  and  of  his  country?  The 
answer  to  this,  that  the  prince  must  obey  his  own  laws, 
he  pretended  to  find  in  the  Bible.  He  considered  the 

1 The  Governour,  p.  cxxxv. 

2 A Short  Treatise  of  Politic  Power  and  of  the  True  Obedi- 
ence which  Subjects  owe  to  Kings , 1556. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  295 


question  as  to  how  far  subjects  were  bound  to  obey 
their  princes.  Furthermore,  if  the  property  of  the  sub- 
ject belonged  to  the  prince,  might  he  not  lawfully  take 
it  as  his  own.  In  discussing  the  great  question  “ whether 
it  be  lawful  to  depose  an  evil  governor  and  kill  a ty- 
rant,” Ponet  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  the  earliest 
English  advocates  of  tyrannicide.  In  the  examples 
given  as  illustrations,  he  showed  his  familiarity  with 
Italian,  and  particularly  Venetian,  history. 

Scattered  through  the  pages  of  Elizabethan  litera- 
ture can  be  found  hundreds  of  references  to  Machia- 
velli,1  whose  name  passed  as  a synonym  for  treachery 
and  tyranny,  used  even  by  many  who  had  never  seen 
his  works.  At  the  same  time,  in  a less  known  direc- 
tion, his  influence  made  itself  felt  in  English  political 
philosophy.  His  method  and  ideas  were  reflected 
particularly  in  the  writings  of  William  Thomas,  John 
Leslie,  Thomas  Bedingfield  and  Charles  Merbury, 
while  even  Bacon  was  influenced  by  him. 

The  theory  generally  adopted  by  the  English  writers 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  to  the  form  of  government 
which  would  present  fewest  dangers  to  the  welfare  ot 
the  state,  favored  absolute  monarchy.  Machiavelli 
had  argued  for  this  in  The  Pritice.  To  the  great  Floren- 
tine, who  elsewhere  advocated  a republic,  the  mere 
form  of  government  mattered  little  in  comparison  with 
the  methods  employed  for  attaining  and  holding  power. 
Inasmuch  as  these  means  were  best  suited  to  abso- 

1 Vide  E.  Meyer,  Machiavelli  and  the  Elizabethan  Drama, 
Litterarhistorische  Forschungen,  1897,  passim. 


296  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

lutism,  his  ideas  seemed  like  the  apology  and 
defence  of  the  absolute  ruler.  Friend  and  foe  alike, 
then,  regarded  him,  not  in  the  modern  light  of 
an  Italian  patriot,  but  as  the  exponent  and  advocate 
of  a strong  rule,  regardless  of  the  methods  employed 
to  obtain  power.  Absolute  government  was  the  goal 
to  which  his  ideas  led ; the  Italian  political  phi- 
losophy of  the  age  was  all  in  the  direction  of  ab- 
solutism.1 This  influence  can  be  traced  likewise  in 
England,  where  it  provided  the  theoretical  foundation 
for  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  kings. 

The  English  arguments  in  favor  of  the  absolute 
monarchy  were  generally  reached  after  supposedly  im- 
partial investigations  into  the  different  forms  of  govern- 
ment. Democracy  and  aristocracy  were  both  discussed, 
and  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  each  were 
weighed.  In  the  ordinary  division  of  every  country 
between  the  nobility  and  commons,  it  was  recog- 
nized that  the  desire  of  the  one  was  always  to  rule,  of 
the  other  not  to  be  ruled.  The  question,  therefore,  at 
issue  was  whether  the  nobleman,  endeavoring  to  main- 
tain his  position,  or  the  commoner,  seeking  to  attain 
power  for  himself,  was  the  more  prejudicial  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  state.  Or,  to  describe  it  in  another  way, 
whose  desire  was  the  greater,  he  who  feared  to  lose 
what  he  already  possessed,  or  he  who,  having  nothing, 
had  everything  to  gain?  The  desire  of  both  was 
thought  equal,  although  the  effects  were  unequal ; for 
the  man  of  property  could  easily  obtain  more,  while 


1 Cf.  Castiglione,  Courtier,  p.  312. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  297 


he  who  had  nothing  could  not  acquire  more  without 
much  labor.  If,  however,  the  one  could  grow  rich 
without  toil  and  the  other  found  no  ease  in  his  riches, 
the  world  would  become  barbarous  through  lack  of 
work.  In  labor,  therefore,  lay  the  foundation  of  all  “civil 
policy.”  It  was  necessary  both  to  force  the  needy 
to  labor,  and  maintain  the  rights  of  those  possess- 
ing property.  As  long  as  neither  nobleman  nor  com- 
moner overstepped  their  bounds,  so  long  were  both 
of  benefit  to  the  state.  If  either  should  do  so, 
the  party  of  the  commons  would  certainly  prove  the 
more  dangerous  on  account  of  their  ignorance  and 
inconstancy.  Moreover,  it  was  impossible  for  many 
individuals  long  to  preserve  the  same  opinion.  They 
might  agree,  but  it  would  only  be  for  a short  time,  and 
if  once  they  lost  their  heads,  no  peril  could  be  com- 
pared to  the  frenzy  of  the  multitude.  Their  occa- 
sional success  had  come  rather  from  good  fortune 
than  wisdom.  In  Thomas’  mind,  if  the  commons 
once  attained  power,  they  would  destroy  both  the 
nobility  and  themselves.1  Others  likewise  shared  this 
view  of  democracy.  Its  advantages,  however,  were  also 
considered.  Democracy  observed  perfect  equality  and 
reduced  the  constitution  of  the  state  to  the  law  of 
nature.  Just  as  nature  gave  riches,  honor  and  office 
to  one  man  no  more  than  to  another,  so  popular  gov- 
ernment tended  to  make  all  men  equal  without  privi- 
lege or  prerogative.  The  avarice  of  the  rich  and  the 
insolence  of  the  great  were  supposed  alike  to  be  done 


1 Works,  p.  157  et  seq. 


298  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


away  with  by  democracy.  It  fostered  friendship  and 
equality  in  human  society,  and  permitted  every  one  to 
enjoy  liberty  and  equal  justice  without  fear  of  tyranny 
or  oppression.  In  spite  of  all  this  the  faults  of 
democracy  were  said  to  outweigh  its  advantages. 
No  true  equality  could  be  observed  under  any  system 
of  popular  government,  since  it  was  contrary  to  the 
law  of  nature,  which  made  certain  men  wiser  than 
others,  decreeing  that  some  were  to  command  and 
others  to  obey.  General  equality,  moreover,  seemed 
impossible  so  long  as  there  were  magistrates  and  forms 
of  government.1  The  characteristic  of  a democracy 
was  that  “handicraftsmen”  and  the  “ baser  sort ” of 
people  should  manage  public  affairs.  Its  main  drawback 
was  that  with  it  went  envy  of  the  rich,  and  an  intense 
conceit  accompanied  the  feeling  it  possessed  of  its  own 
infallibility.  To  describe  democracy  in  a sentence,  it 
seemed  a “horrible  monster  of  many  heads  without 
reason.” 2 

After  the  popular  form  of  government  had  been 
removed  from  consideration,  the  question  of  aristocracy 
was  approached.  It  was  observed  that  the  greed  of 
the  nobility  resulted  frequently  in  the  oppression  and 
suffering  of  the  multitude.  So  long  as  the  commons 
were  in  power,  magistrates  were  careful  to  restrain 
the  excesses  of  the  nobility  and  advance  public  welfare. 
This  condition  would  prove  most  beneficial  if  order 

1 Bedingfield,  Florentine  History  of  Machiavelli,  preface, 

1 595- 

2 Merbury,  Brief  Discourse,  1581,  p.  11. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  299 


could  always  be  maintained,  and  laws  remained  invio- 
late. What  popular  state,  however,  could  point  to 
freedom  from  sedition,  violence  and  faction  for  thirty 
years,  during  which  time  the  state  had  never  been 
in  danger  of  overthrow?1  The  tendency  to  faction 
was  among  the  greatest  dangers  of  an  aristocracy  as  well. 
The  greater  the  number  of  rulers,  the  more  factions 
and  disputes  there  were,2  while  another  peril  lay  in 
state  secrets  being  often  disclosed. 

The  idea  of  government  by  parties  is  a compara- 
tively modern  one.  Even  to  the  framers  of  the 
American  Constitution  the  presence  of  party  govern- 
ment appeared  as  one  of  the  grave  dangers  which 
was  to  beset  the  young  republic.  Its  presence  in 
the  mind  of  William  Thomas  made  him  incline  toward 
possible  tyranny  in  an  absolute  ruler,  in  preference 
to  the  danger  of  an  overthrow  of  government  through 
factional  contests.  His  argument  in  favor  of  abso- 
lute monarchy  was  that  a good  prince,  even  though 
he  diminished  the  power  of  the  commons,  preserved 
them,  at  the  same  time,  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
nobility,  acting  toward  the  latter  in  the  way  they 
did  to  the  multitude ; he  was  as  much  interested  in 
governing  well  one  class  as  the  other.  Contrariwise, 
even  if  he  were  a tyrant,  yet  his  tyranny  was  preferable 
to  that  of  the  nobility.  In  the  one  case  there  were 
many  tyrants,  while  in  the  other  a single  one  would 
suffer  no  one  but  himself.  The  prince’s  tyranny  was, 
therefore,  to  be  preferred  to  that  of  an  aristocracy, 

1 Thomas,  op.  cit.,  p.  166.  2 Bedingfield,  loc.  cit. 


300  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

and  was  infinitely  better  than  the  insolence  of  the  multi- 
tude. The  conclusion  reached  was  that  it  was  best  for 
the  prince  to  have  supreme  power.  While  he  should 
not  oppress  the  people,  he  ought  to  train  them  so 
that  his  very  name  would  make  them  tremble.1  They 
should  not  even  be  allowed  to  talk  of  his  actions  and 
laws,  since  contempt  and  disobedience,  the  mother  of 
all  errors,  would  follow  such  criticism. 

John  Leslie  argued,  likewise,  in  favor  of  the  absolute 
power  of  one  prince.  “ By  the  providence  of  one 
God,  the  whole  world  is  ruled;  so  is  the  body  of 
man  by  one  soul  governed ; a ship  by  one  master  is 
guided.”  One  king  stood  for  peace  and  unity,  which 
all  good  citizens  should  wish  for.2  Charles  Merbury 
also  tried  to  show  that  the  rule  of  the  lawful  mon- 
arch was  the  best  of  all  forms  of  government.  His 
title  should  be  by  descent  in  blood  royal.  Election 
was  open  to  many  disadvantages,  not  only  in  the 
anarchy  which  necessarily  existed  before  a new  prince 
could  be  chosen,  but  in  the  fact  that  to  satisfy  his 
ambition  in  that  direction  a prince  would  even  im- 
poverish a country.  Another  drawback  was  the  possible 
election  of  an  alien.  Italians,  for  instance,  called  all 
others  barbarians,  and  it  was  readily  conceivable  that 
an  Italian  prince  might  try  to  change  the  language 
and  customs  of  the  country.  The  great  advantage  in 
a prince  who  had  absolute  power  over  all  his  subjects 

1 Thomas,  p.  169. 

2 Treatise  touching  the  Right  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scotland, 
1584,  p.  65  et  seq. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  30 1 


was  in  sovereignty,  which  was  without  other  limitation 
of  time  than  his  own  life,  and  after  that  passed  to  his 
sons  and  heirs.  He  was  accountable  to  no  one,  since 
he  received  his  power  only  from  God.  He  was  sub- 
ject, therefore,  to  no  other  law  than  that  of  God. 
Whatever  differed  from  the  divine  law  he  was  not 
bound  to  obey.  For  the  prince  to  be  governed  by 
the  estates  and  peers  of  his  realm  would  be  most 
injurious  to  the  whole  idea  of  monarchy.  Still  less  ought 
he  to  be  subject  to  the  common  multitude,  who,  as 
they  obtained  greater  authority,  became  both  more 
insolent  and  disposed  to  rebellion.  In  all  well-ad- 
ministered kingdoms,  therefore,  the  commons  had 
only  the  power  of  petition,  the  nobles  of  deliberation, 
and  the  prince  alone  of  execution ; for  “ our  Prince, 
who  is  the  image  of  God  on  Earth,  and  as  it  were, 
Un  Minor  Esempio  of  His  almighty  power,  is  not  to 
acknowledge  any  greater  than  himself,  nor  any  author- 
ity greater  than  his  own.” 1 The  perfection  of  mon- 
archy was  therefore  to  be  found  in  the  absolute  rule 
of  the  monarch.  Thomas  Bedingfield,  likewise,  in  his 
translation  of  Machiavelli,  congratulated  his  compatriots 
that  they  were  destined  by  God  to  live  in  the  obedience 
of  an  hereditary  royal  monarchy,  where  the  prince  sub- 
mitted himself  no  less  to  the  law  of  nature  than  he 
desired  his  subjects  to  be  obedient  to  him.  Following 
the  idea  expressed  by  Patrizi  in  his  Civil  Policy,  which 
Richard  Robinson  had  translated  into  English,  and 
where  an  absolutism  was  declared  to  be  the  only 
1 Op.  cit.,  p.  43  et  seq. ; cf.  Castiglione,  p.  314. 


302  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

logical  form  of  government,  Bedingfield  argued  in  favor 
of  the  monarch  ruling  alone,  just  as  God  ruled  the 
entire  universe.  It  was  the  best  state  of  affairs,  and 
all  nations,  it  was  said,  were  first  so  governed.  Of  all 
forms  it  was  “ the  most  reasonable,  most  natural,  most 
honorable,  and  most  necessary.” 1 The  power  of  the 
king  was  of  direct  advantage  to  his  subjects ; witness 
the  haughtiness  of  the  Spaniard,  who,  although  he 
might  have  no  clothes  on  his  back,  was  proud  simply 
because  his  master  was  king  of  Spain.  On  the  other 
hand,  said  Merbury,  it  was  only  necessary  to  look  at 
the  Italian,  who  had  lost  “ the  light  and  dignity  of 
his  nation.”  It  was  no  small  comfort  for  the  English 
gentleman  abroad  to  be  able  to  sit  side  by  side,  the 
equal  of  the  proudest  Spaniard  and  most  boastful 
Frenchman. 

Other  writers  also  argued  in  favor  of  the  absolute 
power  of  the  sovereign.  John  Leslie,  who  cited 
Machiavelli,  Contarini  and  Polydore  Vergil,  described 
the  great  difference  between  the  king’s  right  and  that 
of  all  others : the  king  alone  was  not  subject  to  the 
common  law  of  the  realm ; nor  could  any  law  bind 
the  crown. 2 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  writers  in  favor  of  the  abso- 
lute power  of  the  king  were  all  connected  in  some 
way  with  Italy.  William  Thomas  had  been  the  greatest 
English  authority  on  everything  Italian.  Charles  Mer- 
bury prefaced  his  book  with  an  Italian  dedication  to 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  added  to  it  a collection  of  Italian 
1 Bedingfield,  loc.cit.  2 Treatise , p.  21  b,  et  seq. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  303 


proverbs.  John  Leslie  quoted  from  several  Italian 
authorities,  while  Thomas  Bedingfield  gave  his  ideas 
on  the  subject  as  an  introduction  to  a translation  of 
Machiavelli’s  History  of  Florence.  Englishmen  igno- 
rant of  Italian  could  even  read  in  Patrizi,  that  as  there 
was  but  one  God  for  all  creation,  so  there  should  be 
but  one  prince.  All  these  arguments  were  constructed 
on  similar  plans.  There  was  always  the  same  rational, 
apparently  unbiassed,  historical  examination  into  the 
different  forms  of  government ; and  always  the  same 
preference  toward  absolutism  as  the  most  logical  form, 
since  it  bestowed  sovereignty  on  the  most  worthy.  A 
growing  tendency  existed  to  establish  its  foundation 
on  the  divine  right  of  kings.  The  ancient  system  of 
checks  on  the  royal  authority  was  disappearing  from 
the  political  philosophy  of  the  day ; the  sovereign  was 
to  be  one  and  absolute  in  his  power,  accountable 
only  to  God. 

The  Italian  political  ideas  of  that  age  were  in 
the  direction  of  absolute  monarchy.  This  influence 
can  be  traced  in  English  legal  thought  in  the  work 
of  Alberico  Gentile,  who  came  to  England  in  1580,  and 
seven  years  later  was  appointed  Regius  professor  of 
civil  law  at  Oxford.  Even  before  that,  however,  he 
was  consulted  by  the  government  as  to  what  course  to 
pursue  in  the  case  of  the  Spanish  ambassador  who  had 
been  detected  plotting  against  Elizabeth  ; it  was  by  his 
advice  that  Mendoza  was  merely  ordered  to  leave  the 
country.  He  later  took  up  his  residence  in  London 
with  a view  to  forensic  practice.  His  work  brought 


304  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


new  life  to  the  dead  body  of  civil  law,1  and  gave  a fresh 
impulse  to  the  study  of  Roman  and  international  law, 
which,  before  Grotius,  he  attempted  to  establish  on  a 
non-theological  basis.2  His  De  Jure  Belli  combined 
for  the  first  time,  it  is  said,  the  practical  discussions 
of  Catholic  theologians  with  the  Protestant  theory  of 
natural  law.  It  criticised  and  systematized  the  rules 
for  the  conduct  of  warfare,  and  has  been  called  a legal 
commentary  on  the  events  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
In  addition  to  this  he  wrote  an  apology  for  Machia- 
velli,3  and  also  a treatise  favoring  the  supreme  power 
of  the  prince,  which  he  dedicated  to  James  the  First.4 
Herein  he  tried  to  prove  the  prince  to  be  an  absolute 
monarch,  and  have  arbitrary  power  over  the  lives  and 
estates  of  his  people.  Since  the  people  had  conferred 
on  him  all  their  rule  and  power,  he  need  acknowledge 
no  superior  but  God,  whose  will  was  sufficient  reason, 
and  whose  reason  was  absolute  law.  The  prince  pos- 
sessed and  enjoyed  dominion  over  everything ; he  was 
above  the  civil  law,  and  only  under  the  law  of  God,  of 
nature  and  of  nations.  He  was  cautioned,  however, 
to  use  his  power  justly,  otherwise  trouble  would  follow. 

This  book  by  Gentile  was  not  many  years  later  to  call 
forth  an  indignant  Puritan  refutation.5  “ The  author’s 

1 Fulbeck,  Direction  to  the  Study  of  Law,  1620. 

2 II  Principe,  Preface  by  Burd,  p.  63. 

3 De  legationibus  libri  tres,  London,  1585. 

4 Regales  Disputationes  Tres  de  Potestate  Regis  Absolutis, 
1605. 

5 England's  Monarch,  or  a conviction  and  refutation  by  the 
Common  Law  of  those  false  principles  and  insinuating  flatteries 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  305 


name  is  Albericus,  . . . what  countryman  I know  not,  but 
his  name  as  also  his  principles  seem  to  speak  him  a 
stranger  by  birth.”  The  ideas  underlying  absolute 
monarchy  were  not  English ; their  root  was  foreign, 
and  British  soil  did  not  prove  congenial  to  their 
growth.  In  most  cases  Machiavelli  was  regarded  as 
their  promoter  and  prime  mover ; for  his  English 
readers  of  that  time  abstracted  from  his  writings  only 
the  arguments  favoring  the  absolute  rule  of  the  prince. 
To  sixteenth  century  Europe,  Machiavelli  represented 
something  entirely  different  from  what  we  see  in  him 
to-day ; to  the  men  of  the  Renaissance,  he  seemed  the 
apologist  of  tyranny,  the  teacher  of  subtle  methods  of 
how  to  enslave  a free  people.  He  was  in  fact  known 
rather  by  the  books  of  his  opponents  than  his  own 
writings,  which  were  not  translated  till  later.  Inno- 
cent Gentillet,  a French  Huguenot,  wrote  the  most 
celebrated  of  these  denunciations,  and  fixed  on  Machia- 
velli the  responsibility  for  the  massacre  of  Saint  Bar- 
tholomew, pointing  out  the  supposed  influence  of  the 
great  Florentine  on  the  politics  and  statecraft  of 
the  time.  From  this  book,  most  subsequent  denun- 
ciations were  taken.  In  its  English  rendering1  the 
translator  referred  to  Machiavelli  taking  faith  away  from 
princes,  authority  and  majesty  from  laws,  and  liberty 

of  Albericus.  . . . Together  with  a general  confutation  ...  of 
all  absolute  i7ionarchy , London,  1644. 

1 A Discourse  upon  the  means  of  well-governing  a kingdom 
against  Nicholas  Machiavell  the  Florentine  (by  I.  Gentillet). 
Translated  into  the  English  by  Simon  Patericke,  London,  1602. 


x 


306  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


from  the  people,  and  called  his  book  “this  deadly  poison 
sent  out  of  Italy.”  A like  opinion  of  Machiavelli  was 
then  current  in  England.  Contemporary  literature 
was  full  of  it.  Men  judged  him  rather  from  hearsay 
than  by  his  actual  writings,  though  they  too  were 
known.  A whole  school  grew  up,  whose  conception 
of  statecraft,  resting  on  a common  basis  of  falsehood 
and  fraud,  exaggerated  his  ideas.1  Carefully  selected 
passages  in  Gentillet  further  convinced  Englishmen  of 
his  wickedness.  His  influence  with  the  dramatists,  espe- 
cially Greene  and  Marlowe,  will  be  considered  later, 
but  in  ordinary  life  and  conversation  his  very  name 
passed  into  a byword.  Some  idea  of  his  general  repu- 
tation may  perhaps  be  obtained  from  a letter  of  advice 
written  by  a friend  to  a young  Englishman  in  Italy2  of 
how  best  to  profit  from  his  travels ; after  urging  him 
to  study  the  Italian  language  and  civil  law,  he  advised 
him  to  read  the  Discourse  on  Livy , by  one  whom  he 
called  the  “ vile,  treacherous,  devilish  person  whom 
you  would  call  him  devil  is  Machiavelli.”  He  should 
remember,  however,  that  to  be  called  by  his  name 
was  a disgrace  and  an  infamy.  Machiavelli’s  influence 
was  thus,  in  part,  an  imaginary  one,  many  things 
being  attributed  to  him  which  he  never  advocated. 
At  the  same  time,  the  new  spirit  of  rational  inquiry 
in  state  affairs,  the  historic  sense  and  illustration,  and 
even  the  leaning  toward  absolutism,  can  all  be  traced 

1 Janet,  Science  Politique , I,  542. 

2 All  Souls  Library  (Oxford),  Ms.  CLV,  f.  77  b,  dated 
27th  February,  1599. 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  307 

to  the  influence  of  his  writings.  His  popularity  in 
England  was  shown  in  other  ways  : Gabriel  Harvey, 
fresh  from  Cambridge,  asked  for  the  books  of  “ the 
great  founder  and  master  of  policies,” 1 claiming  that 
his  works  had  supplanted  all  others ; and  the  Prince 
and  Discourses,  it  is  said,  were  both  printed  in  London 
at  this  time.2 


Ill 

Nannini’s  Civil  Considerations,  a treatise  on  prac- 
tical government  based  on  Guicciardini,  was  only  one 
of  the  numerous  Italian  books  then  translated  into 
English.  More  important  than  the  problems  it  dis- 
cussed, and  the  working  side  of  the  state  it  pre- 
sented, in  preference  to  its  theoretical  ideal,  was  its 
new  method  of  treatment  by  historical  illustrations. 
Questions  were  put  in  their  relation  to  actual  life,  and 
not  the  ideal  possibilities  they  might  contain. 

Another  book  of  this  period  in  which  the  influence 
of  the  Italian  method  can  be  found  was  Sir  Thomas 
Smith’s  work  on  England,  written  on  a plan  similar  to 
Contarini’s  Venice.  Smith,  it  should  be  remembered, 
had  studied  under  Alciati,  the  reformer  of  civil  law, 
and  listened  to  Accoramboni  and  Rubeo,  at  Padua, 
where  he  graduated  a doctor  of  laws.  The  book 
he  was  later  to  write  showed  the  power  of  system- 
atic analysis  so  characteristic  of  the  Italian  treatises 
of  the  time.  In  discussing  the  merits  of  different 

1 Letter-Book,  p.  1 74  et  seq. 

2 Nineteenth  Century,  December,  1896,  p.  9 1 5. 


308  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

forms  of  government,  he  gave  the  qualities  and  defects 
of  each,  considering  that  state  the  best  which  was  most 
in  accordance  with  the  nature  of  its  people. 

The  actual  influence  of  the  Italian  historical 
method  was  gathered  not  only  from  books  but 
from  men ; Tito  Livio  of  Forli  and  Polydore  Vergil 
offered  early  instances  of  Italian  historians  in  Eng- 
land, and  later  Pietro  Bizari  came  over  as  well. 
On  the  other  hand,  Nicholas  Sanders,  an  English 
controversialist  and  historian,  remained  long  in  Rome, 
where  he  lived  under  the  protection  of  Cardinal 
Morone. 

The  Italian  influence  in  William  Thomas  was  evident 
in  his  historical  work.  In  the  History  of  Italy,  before 
describing  the  sights  of  each  city  came  an  account  of 
the  place,  written,  as  he  frankly  stated,1  by  comparing 
together  the  works  of  different  authors ; he  borrowed 
especially  from  Machiavelli’s  account  of  Florence. 
Machiavelli’s  history  was  later  translated  byBedingfield,2 
who  prefaced  the  book  with  his  arguments  in  favor  of 
absolute  monarchy.  The  history  itself  equalled  or  ex- 
celled, in  his  judgment,  any  hitherto  written,  not  only  in 
the  method  of  presentation,  but  on  account  of  the  ob- 
servations of  the  author,  who  left  aside  all  partiality  and 
flattery  and  tried  only  to  arrive  at  the  truth.  His  method 
of  writing  was  to  set  forth  the  causes  and  effects  of 
every  action  rather  than  to  extoll  or  condemn  the  per- 
• 

1 Op.  cit.,  p.  140. 

2 The  Florentine  History,  translated  by  T[homas]  B[eding- 

field] , 1595- 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  309 


sons  of  whom  he  wrote.  Other  Italian  histories  were 
also  translated  into  English ; Guicciardini’s  Wars  of 
Italy,  by  Geoffrey  Fenton,1  and  histories  of  Portugal,2 
of  the  Low  Countries,3  and  of  the  Turks  and  Persians.4 
Examples  of  the  manner  in  which  history  should  be 
written  were  presented  in  these  works ; not  only  were 
they  chronicles  of  events,  but  descriptions  as  well  of 
the  religion,  military  strength,  government,  colonies 
and  revenues  of  the  countries  they  described. 

The  Italian  philosophy  of  history  and  method  of 
historical  writing  was  illustrated  in  a selection  from  the 
works  of  Francesco  Patrizi  and  Jacopo  Acontio,5  the 
latter  an  Italian  refugee  in  England,  and  one  of  Bacon’s 
forerunners  in  the  method  of  experimental  research. 
This  book,  though  almost  unknown,  was  one  of  the 

1 The  History  of  Guicciardin.  . . . Reduced  into  English  by 
Geoffrey  Fenton,  London,  1579. 

2 The  History  of  the  Uniting  of  the  Kingdom  of  Portugal  to 
the  Crown  of  Castile  . . . translated  by  Edward  Blount  (?)  from 
the  Italian  of  Girolamo  Conestaggio,  London,  1600. 

8 The  Description  of  the  Low  Countries  . . . out  of  the  history 
of  Lodovico  Guicciardini  by  Th.  Danett,  London,  1593. 

4 The  History  of  the  Wars  between  the  Turks  and  the  Per- 
sians, written  in  Italian  by  John  Thomas  Minadoi,  and  trans- 
lated into  English  by  Abraham  Hartwell,  London,  1595.  The 
Ottoman  of  I.azaro  Soranzo  . . . translated  out  of  Italian  into 
English  by  Abraham  Hartwell,  London,  1603. 

6 The  True  Order  and  Method  of  writing  and  reading 
Histories  according  to  the  Precepts  of  Francisco  Patricio  and 
Accontio  Tridentino,  two  Italian  writers  . . . by  Thomas  Blunde- 
ville,  London,  1574.  The  manuscript  of  Acontio,  which  has 
never  been  published,  is  preserved  at  the  Record  Office,  London 
(Dom.  Ser.,  Vol.  XXXIV,  Aug.,  1564).  It  was  dedicated  by 
him  to  Robert  Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester. 


310  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


most  remarkable  of  its  kind  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
foreshadowing,  in  its  ideas,  so  much  of  what  is  com- 
monly thought  the  creation  of  our  own  times  and  the 
modern  scientific  method.  It  was  an  analysis  of  his- 
tory, the  study  of  which  was  looked  upon  as  a prepara- 
tion for  princes,  to  guard  them  against  errors.  History 
was  treated  from  the  point  of  view  that  everything  had 
its  cause,  and  every  cause  a beginning,  early  growth,  cli- 
max, decline  and  end.  In  considering  any  question, 
therefore,  one  ought  to  begin  by  noticing  its  relations. 
Four  things  especially  should  always  be  kept  in  mind, 
trade,  public  revenues,  armament  and  the  form  of 
government. 

The  argument  briefly  stated  was  that  history  was 
made  up  of  deeds  done  either  by  a state,  or  against  a 
state,  and  such  deeds  arose  in  turn,  either  from  some 
outward  cause,  as  force  or  fortune,  or  inward  cause, 
like  reason  or  desire.  Every  action  was  therefore  done 
by  some  person,  for  some  cause  in  time  and  place,  with 
means  and  instruments.  This  was  true  regardless  of 
the  magnitude  of  the  action.  There  was  always  a 
principal  doer,  over  and  above  the  inferior  doers ; 
likewise  a principal  cause  ruling  inferior  causes,  and  a 
principal  time,  means  and  instrument.  Such  were 
the  outward  conditions  of  an  action ; but  within  it, 
also,  there  existed  possibility,  occasion  and  success. 
Regarding  the  doer,  both  his  position  and  his  ability 
were  to  be  considered,  the  first  dependent  upon  his 
family  and  country,  the  second  on  his  power,  skill 
and  industry.  No  man  ought  for  an  instant  to  imagine 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  31 1 


he  could  achieve  success  unless  he  possessed  some  of 
these  qualities.  Even  emotions  had  their  final  causes, 
for  the  object  of  wrath  was  revenge,  and  of  mercy, 
help  and  comfort. 

“Those  whose  lives  ought  to  be  chronicled  ” were 
also  considered.  In  writing  a biography  one  ought 
first  to  give  the  hero’s  family  and  country,  and  then 
search  for  the  principle  which  moved  him  in  his  under- 
takings ; whether  an  outward  one,  such  as  destiny  or 
fortune  ; or  inward,  as  by  choice  or  nature.  It  was  also 
necessary  for  the  biographer  to  determine  the  origin 
of  that  principle  — whether  it  was  passion,  custom,  or 
reason.  Such  actions  as  were  forced  by  outward  cir- 
cumstances deserved  neither  praise  nor  blame,  and 
were  indeed  only  to  be  mentioned  so  far  as  they 
brought  ou,t  or  hindered  others  springing  from  inward 
causes,  which  alone  were  worthy  of  description.  The 
historian  ought,  therefore,  to  analyze  the  cause  and 
reason  of  each  action,  if  it  was  by  choice,  and  to 
what  extent  education  on  the  part  of  the  doer  had 
modified  it ; for  education  both  confirmed  a man  in 
his  bringing  up,  framed  his  inclinations,  and  trained 
his  mind.  The  historian’s  aim  should  be  to  show 
the  influence  of  environment  and  its  exemplification 
through  outward  deeds.  The  hero’s  personality  ought 
to  be  considered,  however,  not  only  for  his  deeds  and 
speeches,  which  were,  after  all,  only  the  result  of  the 
man,  but  in  other  respects  as  well. 

All  public  actions  everywhere  depended  on  three 
things,  peace,  sedition  and  war.  Peace  existed 


312  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


both  in  outward  action  and  inward  frame  of  mind. 
It  had  for  its  proper  foundation  the  contentment  of 
citizens  and  was  broken  only  by  some  inward  cause, 
such  as  famine,  the  denial  to  classes  of  their  just  rights, 
or  else  by  war.  Analyses  of  revolutions  and  wars,  with 
an  account  of  the  great  conspiracies  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  further  illustrated  this  discussion. 

It  was  considered  to  be  the  duty  of  the  historian  to 
relate  everything  without  either  adding  to  it  or  taking 
away  from  it.  Since  every  action  resulted  from  some 
person’s  activity  the  doer  ought  to  be  mentioned,  with 
the  reasons  which  led  him  to  undertake  it ; and  when 
several  had  been  engaged  in  it,  the  parts  should  be 
kept  in  such  relation  as  to  form  together  one  simple 
action. 

Regarding  the  order  and  method  to  be  observed  in 
reading  history,  those  eager  to  learn  ought  to  under- 
stand the  object  and  purpose  for  which  it  was  written. 
There  were  three  principal  causes : first,  to  acknowl- 
edge the  providence  of  God ; secondly,  in  order  that 
wisdom  might  be  learned  from  the  example  of  the  wise  ; 
and  lastly,  it  was  intended  to  lead  men  to  greater  good, 
and  similarly  to  shun  evil.  Nothing,  it  was  thought, 
removed  one  further  from  the  desire  of  evil  than  to  see 
the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  history  exposed 
this  clearly  to  the  world.  History  made  men  wiser 
both  to  direct  their  own  actions  and  to  advise  others. 
It  was  its  proper  fruit  that  it  should  be  of  benefit  alike 
to  the  reader  and  to  his  country.  Regarding  those 
who,  having  spent  their  lifetime  in  study,  knew  noth- 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  3 1 3 


ing  beyond  the  genealogies  and  pedigrees  of  kings 
and  emperors,  one  knew  not  whether  more  to  pity  or 
deride  them. 

This  historical  method  has  fallen  into  undeserved 
oblivion.  It  was  in  many  ways  a remarkable  work, 
clearly  demonstrating  the  influence  of  environment 
on  the  individual,  and  of  man  as  the  product  of 
his  age.  It  showed,  too,  the  analytical  and  systematiz- 
ing tendency  of  the  Italians  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
In  history,  as  in  other  things,  Italy  gave  the  model, 
from  which  the  other  nations  of  Europe  could  build. 

IV 

In  the  sixteenth  century  Italians  did  much  to  teach 
Englishmen  the  writing  of  history,  on  a different  plan 
from  that  of  the  mediaeval  chronicles.  Polydore 
Vergil’s  History  of  England  was  especially  influential 
and  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  first  of  the  long 
chain  of  English  histories  which  have  since  appeared. 
The  translations  of  Guicciardini  and  Machiavelli  gave 
to  Elizabethan  historians  the  best  of  models  and 
examples,  while  Acontio  and  Patrizi’s  philosophy 
and  critique  furnished  an  analysis  of  the  methods  of 
writing  history. 

In  considering  the  influence  of  Italy  on  England  in 
the  political  thought  of  the  Renaissance,  it  should  be 
looked  for  in  the  intellectual  substructure  and  theo- 
retical foundation  on  which  political  action  was  based. 
The  pendulum  had  far  to  swing  from  the  direction  of 
feudal  ideas  to  that  of  absolute  monarchy.  Between 


3 14  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

the  Plantagenets  and  the  second  of  the  Stuarts  the 
line  of  the  Tudors  bridged  the  interval,  and  their  rule 
prepared  the  way  for  the  despotic  attempt  of  Charles 
the  First.  The  absolute  power  of  the  prince  had 
begun  to  be  wielded  by  Edward  the  Fourth  in  the 
earliest  days  of  the  Renaissance.  In  many  ways 
Henry  the  Seventh  laid  the  firm  foundations  for  the 
monarchy.  Its  intellectual  justification,  however,  was 
still  lacking  in  England.  It  was  this  which  was  sup- 
plied by  Italy  and  Italian  thought.  In  practical  life 
and  in  the  world  of  action  it  was  from  Italy  that 
Tiptoft  brought  the  Paduan  Law,  and  the  ruthlessness 
of  his  methods  was  worthy  of  the  example  set  by  the 
Italian  despots  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  was  an 
Italian,  too,  who  could  sympathize  with  his  ideas  and 
task  in  forming  the  new  monarchy,  that  the  first  of  the 
Tudors  chose  to  be  his  friend  and  biographer.  In  his 
love  of  art  and  splendor,  in  his  encouragement  of 
learning,  as  in  his  methods,  Wolsey  had  much  in  com- 
mon with  the  great  Italian  cardinals  of  the  Renaissance. 
A little  later  it  was  Thomas  Cromwell,  a reader  of 
Machiavelli,  who  crushed  the  last  power  of  the  church 
that  still  dared  assert  itself  in  opposition  to  the  authority 
of  the  king. 

In  the  world  of  ideas  at  the  same  time  Italy  sup- 
plied the  material  for  the  apologists  of  the  Tudor  mon- 
archy. Machiavelli  offered,  indeed,  a ready  reply  to 
all  who  searched  his  works  for  arguments.  His  calm, 
dispassionate  statements,  his  cool  judgments,  lent 
themselves  to  many  constructions.  While,  in  the  six- 


ITALIAN  POLITICAL  IDEAS  IN  ENGLAND  315 


leenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  at  least,  the  great 
Florentine  was  a much  maligned  man,  at  the  same 
time  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  men  of  the  Re- 
naissance found  in  his  works  a mine  of  arguments  in 
behalf  of  the  absolute  power  of  the  state  ; and  to  Eng- 
lishmen then  the  state  meant  the  monarchy.  Thomas, 
Leslie,  Merbury  and  Bedingfield,  students  of  Italian 
statecraft,  all  showed  his  influence  in  their  writings  in 
favor  of  the  absolute  power  of  the  prince.  His  histori- 
cal method,  his  balance  and  judgment,  they  adopted  ; 
but  after  weighing  all  considerations,  their  inclinations 
led  them  toward  absolute  rule  as  the  most  perfect  form 
of  government.  Other  Italians,  too,  whose  works  were 
translated  into  English  or  written  in  England,  all 
favored  it.  The  revival  of  antiquity  had  brought  with 
it  the  belief  that  the  power  of  the  sovereign  should  be 
absolute,  and  to  Englishmen  unused  to  the  Italian  city 
republics  and  other  forms  of  government,  sovereignty 
meant,  therefore,  the  power  of  the  prince.  How  alien 
and  foreign  this  was,  in  fact,  to  their  own  ideas  was 
not  to  be  realized  until  the  time  of  the  English  revo- 
lution. 


1 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY 
I 

The  Renaissance,  in  its  first  intention  at  least,  was 
largely  an  effort  to  imitate  the  life  and  conditions  of 
antiquity.  That  it  became  otherwise,  that,  far  from 
being  the  servile  imitation  of  another  age,  it  was  to 
embody  a great  force  in  remoulding  the  civilized 
world,  from  which  almost  every  modern  idea  may  be 
said  to  trace  its  origin,  was  largely  due  to  the  influence 
of  Italy.  The  Renaissance  in  the  countries  beyond 
the  Alps  was  often,  in  more  ways  than  one,  a continua- 
tion of  the  movement  begun  on  Italian  soil.  Erasmus 
and  Holbein,  Lope  de  Vega  and  Montaigne,  Camoens 
and  even  Shakespeare,  owed  each  a debt  of  gratitude 
to  the  art,  the  letters  and  the  civilization  of  Italy. 

In  English  poetry  this  Italian  influence  was  of  a 
twofold  nature.  On  the  one  hand,  it  taught  new  forms 
and  stood  for  precision,  balance  and  polish ; it  brought 
in  a greater  consciousness  of  the  poet’s  art  and  dig- 
nity, and  demanded  on  his  part  a deeper  learning  and 
scholarship.  On  the  other,  it  created  a fresh  atmos- 
phere for  the  poet’s  life.  The  new  spirit  of  the 
Renaissance  in  Italy,  by  removing  existing  barriers, 
316 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  3 1 7 


enriched  the  life  of  man,  while,  by  a similar  process, 
his  nature  felt  itself  freed  from  all  moral  restraints. 
Italy  was  thus  destined  to  teach  measure  and  art  in 
form,  while  in  spirit  it  stood  for  unbridled  license  and 
excess.  Its  aesthetic  side  taught  a new  art  of  verse  to 
English  poets ; its  life  created  a romantic  atmosphere 
for  English  dramatists. 

It  is  somewhat  significant  that  the  father  of  English 
poetry  was  the  first  to  express  the  influence  of  Italy. 
Chaucer  led  his  nation  in  realizing  that  a new  age  had 
dawned.  He  had  been  the  first  in  England  to  read  the 
Tuscan  poets ; his  writings,  like  Petrarch’s,  were  the 
first  to  be  freed  from  theological  purpose.  He  fore- 
shadowed, though  long  in  advance  of  his  age,  the 
influence  which  was  later  to  be  felt.  The  glimmer 
of  the  new  era  he  awakened  disappeared  once  more 
after  his  death.  His  successors,  Gower  and  Lydgate, 
and  later  the  Scotch  Chaucerians,  although  familiar 
with  a few  of  the  Italian  writers,  failed  to  appreciate 
their  true  spirit.  Petrarch  they  regarded  as  a scholar, 
Boccaccio  as  a teacher.  During  the  entire  fifteenth 
century  this  condition  prevailed,  the  Tuscan  poets 
usually  being  valued  for  nothing  else.1  The  real  sig- 
nificance of  the  new  poetry  could  not  yet  be  grasped 
beyond  the  Alps.  It  was  necessary  for  Englishmen  to 
be  educated  to  the  point  where  the  great  Tuscan  poets 

1 Although  two  English  bishops,  Hallam  and  Bubwith,  meet- 
ing John  of  Serravalle  at  the  Council  of  Constance,  induced  him 
to  write  a commentary  on  Dante’s  Commedia.  — E.  Moore, 
Dante  and  his  Early  Biographers,  London,  1890,  p.  65. 


3 1 8 ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

would  be  able  to  make  an  appeal  to  their  taste  and 
understanding.  Neither  Stephen  Hawes  nor  Skelton 
ever  really  felt  the  spirit  of  the  Renaissance,  or 
saw  Petrarch  otherwise  than  as  a “famous  clerk.”1 
Poetry  remained  backward  when  all  else  progressed.  It 
was  lime  for  it,  however,  to  leave  the  sterile  traditions  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  At  the  court  of  Henry  the  Eighth, 
with  its  affectations  of  foreign  fashions,  its  love  of  Italian 
learning,  Italian  music,  and  Italian  art,  it  was  scarcely 
conceivable  that  poets  alone  should  repeat  allegorical 
expressions  then  dead  and  meaningless.  Latin  human- 
istic poetry  had  already  been  cultivated  by  Flemming, 
Free  and  other  English  scholars,  with  fair  success, 
while  numerous  Italian  residents  at  the  Tudor  court 
also  practised  it.  , It  was  only  natural  that  poetical 
forms  more  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  age 
should  be  attempted.  Italy,  which  in  scholarship,  art 
and  courtly  life  offered  the  example  to  Europe,  was 
to  do  so  in  poetry  as  well. 

The  cultivation  of  Latin  verse  had  been  among 
the  earliest  labors  of  Italian  humanists.  The  more 
gifted  and  less  pedantic  among  them,  like  Poli- 
tian,  wrote  poetry  also  in  the  vernacular.  English 
scholars,  by  no  means  so  talented  as  their  masters, 
left  this  for  courtiers  to  do.  At  the  court,  therefore, 
the  new  poetry  grew  up,  just  as  the  new  learning 
had  prospered  at  the  university.  In  each  case  the 
limited  sphere  of  its  surroundings  was  responsible  for 
the  slow  development ; scholarship,  for  instance,  had 
1 Skelton,  I,  377. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  319 


taken  fully  seventy-five  years  to  succeed.  Its  final 
triumph  was  marked  at  the  same  time  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Italian  verse  forms  into  English  poetry, 
even  though  these  were  not  to  take  firm  hold  until  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth. 

Navagero’s  famous  conversation  with  Boscan  re- 
mains unparalleled  in  the  pages  of  English  literature. 
A number  of  circumstances  might  lead  one,  how- 
ever, to  suppose  that  it  was  something  more  than 
chance  which  first  induced  Wyatt  and  Surrey  to  begin 
their  work  of  poetical  reform.  The  Italian  humanist 
poets,  resident  at  the  English  court,  perhaps,  en- 
couraged it.  Silvestro  Gigli,  Adrian  de  Castello  and 
Andrea  Ammonio,  all  of  whom  were  poets,  must  have 
known  Wyatt.  Ammonio,  especially,  who  lived  for  a 
time  in  More’s  household,  was  a member  of  a liter- 
ary coterie  in  London,  which  included  other  Italians 
and  several  of  the  Oxford  men  who  had  studied 
abroad.1  The  new  poetry  was  distinctively  a product 
of  the  court  in  the  beginning,  flourishing  there  and 
nowhere  else.  In  Italy,  every  courtier  had  been 
a poet,  and  every  poet  a courtier.  Castiglione,  who 
had  himself  visited  England,  laid  it  down  as  a rule 
for  his  courtier  to  cultivate  and  polish  his  native 
language.  “ Let  him  much  exercise  himself  in  poets 
. . . and  also  in  writing  both  rhyme  and  prose,  and 
especially  in  this  our  vulgar  tongue.” 2 

The  new  poetry  in  England  was  to  be  full  of  courtly 
feelings  and  ideas.  It  was  essentially  a literature  not 
1 Giustiniani,  II,  68.  2 Courtier,  p.  85. 


320  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


of  the  people  at  large,  but  of  a narrow  circle.  A dis- 
tinct connection  existed,  however,  between  scholars 
and  poets.  Several  of  the  former  had  left  Oxford  for 
London,  where  a larger  field  awaited  their  activities. 
Sir  Thomas  More,  himself  a Latin  poet  of  eminence, 
was  high  in  favor  with  the  king.  Poets  and  scholars 
alike  had  similar  ambitions,  and  in  different  ways  ac- 
complished the  same  task.  John  Leland,  the  royal 
antiquarian,  linked  together  the  two  groups.  Leland 
had  known  Wyatt  ever  since  the  two  had  been  together 
at  Cambridge,  and  on  his  death  he  wrote  a threnody, 
dedicated  to  Surrey,  in  which  he  praised  him  espe- 
cially for  his  use  of  the  English  language  in  poetry, 
regarding  him  as  the  equal  of  Dante  and  Petrarch.1 

The  task  of  the  courtly  poets  was  not  an  easy  one. 
Vagueness  and  diffuseness,  prolixity,  tautology  and 
lack  of  taste  had  been  among  the  commonest  errors 
of  the  earlier  school.  These  faults  were  not  cor- 
rected immediately.  The  followers  of  Skelton  and 
Hawes  did  not  cease  to  write  after  the  new  Italian 
forms  had  been  introduced.  Their  importance,  how- 
ever, was  greatly  diminished,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  dignity  of  poetry  was  reestablished  once  more ; the 
mere  fact  that  it  could  flourish  at  court  and  be 
taken  up  by  favorites  of  the  king  was  to  act  power- 

1 Nani  a in  mortem  Thomce  Viati,  1 542. 

Anglus  per  Italis 

“ Bella  snum  merito  jactet  Florentia  Dantem , 

Regia  Petrarcha  carmina  Roma  probet. 

His  non  inferior  patrio  sermone  Viatns 
Eloquii  secum  qui  decus  omne  tiilit.” 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  32 1 


fully  in  its  favor.  There  sprang  up,  in  England,  “ a 
new  company  of  courtly-makers,  of  whom  Sir  Thomas 
Wyatt,  the  elder,  and  Henry,  Earl  of  Surrey,  were  the 
two  chieftains,  who,  having  travelled  into  Italy  and 
there  tasted  the  sweet  and  stately  measures  and  style 
of  the  Italian  poesy,  as  novices  newly  crept  out  of 
the  schools  of  Dante,  Arioste,  and  Petrarch,  they 
greatly  polished  our  rude  and  homely  manner  of  vulgar 
poesy,  from  that  it  had  been  before,  and  for  that 
cause  may  justly  be  said  to  be  the  first  reformers  of 
our  English  metre  and  style.”  1 

The  great  importance  of  Wyatt  and  Surrey  was  in 
being  the  first  to  make  use  in  English  of  the  new 
Italian  poetic  forms  of  the  Renaissance.  Their  task 
in  literature  was  analogous  to  that  of  Grocyn  and 
Linacre  in  scholarship.  Yet  the  positions  of  Wyatt 
and  Surrey  in  poetry  were  by  no  means  the  same. 
There  can  be  as  little  doubt  that  Wyatt  was  the  in- 
novator as  that  Surrey  was  the  greater  poet  of  the  two. 
Wyatt  was  born  in  1503,  thirteen  years  before  the  Earl 
of  Surrey.  It  is  scarcely  likely  that  the  older  man 
should  learn  from  the  younger  one.  Wyatt,  moreover, 
had  travelled  in  Italy,2  Surrey  never  did.  In  addition, 
John  Leland,  in  some  memorial  verses  on  Wyatt,  re- 
garded Surrey  in  the  light  of  his  poetic  successor.  He 
wrote  of  him  : — 

Perge  Howarde  precor,  virtute  referre  Viatum, 
Discerisque  tuee,  clarissima  gloria  slirpis. 

1 Puttenham,  p.  74. 

a Vide  article  in  Gentleman  s Magazine,  September,  1850. 


322  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

Last  of  all,  the  technique  of  their  poetry  proves 
Wyatt’s  to  have  been  the  earlier.  In  every  respect, 
Surrey’s  work  marked  a distinct  advance  on  that  of 
his  predecessor  and  master.  Wyatt  was  indeed  the 
father  of  modern  English  poetry ; Surrey,  the  greatest 
of  his  immediate  successors.  Wyatt  was  the  master 
whose  verse  marked  the  beginning  of  the  influence 
of  Petrarch  in  the  poetry  of  the  English  Renaissance. 

II 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  things  in  the  history 
of  culture  was  that  the  influence  of  a single  individual 
should  endure  through  centuries,  and  yet  change 
entirely  in  its  nature.  Petrarch  to  his  contemporaries 
had  been  first  and  foremost  a humanist.  More  than 
any  one  else  he  had  brought  into  disfavor  the  old 
scholastic  learning,  and  ushered  in  the  new  age,  which 
revived  the  knowledge  of  the  ancient  world.  Later 
generations,  however,  were  to  praise  him  chiefly  for 
his  sonnets  which  fitted  in  with  the  Platonic  tendencies 
of  the  age.  Petrarch,  who  laid  his  title  to  immortality 
on  his  longer  Latin  poems,  was  to  have  it  granted  to 
him  for  that  which  he  claimed  to  value  least,  the  poetic 
recollections  of  his  love  for  Laura. 

Petrarch  nevertheless  made  the  sonnet  form  es- 
sentially his  own,  even  if  he  did  not  create  it.  It  was 
to  find  popularity  awaiting  it,  not  only  in  Italy,  but  in 
France,  Spain,  Portugal  and  England  as  well.  Perhaps 
its  rigid  form  and  construction,  as  much  as  the  spirit 
it  breathed,  appealed  to  the  classical  tendencies  of 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  323 


the  period.  The  long,  rambling  poems  of  the  Middle 
Ages  were  no  longer  in  favor  after  the  literature  of 
antiquity  had  become  familiar  to  every  one.  Rem- 
nants of  the  old  mediaeval  spirit  still  remained  in  many 
different  ways,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  expression  of 
the  lover’s  absolute  devotion  to  his  lady.  The  out- 
ward form,  however,  had  been  entirely  recast ; the 
style  and  metre  especially  became  more  polished. 
The  rude  language  of  former  times  no  longer  sufficed 
to  express  the  subtler  shades  of  meaning,  the  abundant 
conceits  and  imagery,  and  the  ingenuity,  considered 
necessary.  Petrarch  furnished  the  great  model  and 
example  for  the  new  poetry.  On  the  one  hand  the 
novelty  and  technical  perfection  of  his  art,  on  the 
other  the  supposed  depth  of  his  passion,  along  with 
its  Platonic  ideas,  made  him  the  model  for  the  court 
poets  of  Western  Europe,  who,  trained  in  both  the 
new  humanism  and  the  ancient  spirit  of  chivalry, 
were  eager  to  reform  and  refine  the  poetry  of  their 
native  land. 

Such  poetry  represented  an  ingenious  effort  to  write 
of  love  without  any  true  emotion  of  the  soul,  to  pretend 
an  ardent  passion  for  an  imaginary  mistress,  and  relate 
in  verse  the  story  of  a fictitious  intrigue  conducted 
along  certain  lines  established  by  immovable  tradi- 
tion.1 It  was  only  necessary  for  an  abstract  idea  of 
love  to  be  embodied  in  a sensible  image ; to  do  this 
successfully,  ingenuity  and  skill  were  far  more  essen- 
tial than  either  learning  or  imagination.  The  usual 

1 Vide  M.  Pieri,  Petrarque  et  Ronsard , p.  88. 


324  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


process  was  to  take  the  ideas  of  Petrarch,  and,  imitat- 
ing the  sources  of  his  inspiration  and  poetic  phrase- 
ology, to  reproduce  the  mannerisms.  Petrarch’s  original 
selection  of  the  sonnet  form  had  kept  him  within  a 
narrow  range  of  ideas  and  feelings.  It  had  obliged  him 
to  repeat  himself  and  make  the  most  of  his  talents,  in 
dwelling  at  length  and  without  too  great  monotony  on 
the  relentless  heart-burnings  he  experienced.  The  nar- 
row range  prescribed  for  the  emotions  required  variety 
in  the  metaphors  by  which  they  were  presented,  and 
this  brought  with  it  necessary  exaggeration.  The 
imitators  of  his  school  could  easily  discern  through  it 
all  the  method  of  his  composition,  with  its  affectation 
of  ideas,  its  refinement  of  feeling  and  exaggeration  of 
style.  They  could  borrow  this  with  the  acquired  ease 
of  skilful  rhetoricians.  The  main  themes  could  thus 
be  preserved,  and  at  the  same  time  new  details  added, 
while  the  methods  of  expression  could  be  varied  either 
in  the  direction  of  over  refinement  or  exaggeration, 
thus  escaping  reproaches  of  plagiarism.  Still  another 
way  for  imitators  was  to  take  selected  phrases  from 
the  sonnets,  and,  adding  to  them  from  their  store, 
develop  them  in  their  own  way. 

Petrarchism  included  within  itself  certain  quite  dif- 
ferent sides.  Its  idea  of  love,  for  instance,  with 
its  expression  of  austerity  and  sensuality  in  one, 
was  little  else  than  the  literary  survival  of  the  past 
chivalric  age,  which  found  its  noblest  ideal  in  the  Pla- 
tonic affection  for  woman,  regarding  love  as  purify- 
ing the  heart,  uplifting  the  soul,  and  the  fountain- 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  325 


head,  in  a word,  of  all  virtue.  It  was  a revival  which 
proved  all  the  more  popular,  since,  in  its  outward 
form  at  least,  chivalry  had  become  an  amusement 
of  the  court,  while  it  was  aided  by  the  reaction  which 
had  set  in  against  Aristotle  and  the  codified  system  of 
courtly  love,  and  favored  the  Petrarchan  expression 
of  Platonic  ideas. 

The  suffering  of  love,  the  timidity  of  the  lover  and 
the  permanence  of  his  passion  were  always  expressed. 
In  addition,  there  were  certain  tricks  of  phraseology 
and  style  which  were  later  exaggerated  by  the  fol- 
lowers of  Petrarch.  A straining  after  effect,  an  abuse 
of  conceits  and  ingenuities,  of  antitheses  and  puns, 
were  characteristic  of  this  style.  Its  better  side,  how- 
ever, could  be  found  in  the  refinement,  conciseness, 
polish  and  dignity  which,  especially  beyond  the  Alps, 
distinguished  it  from  previous  poetry.  Last  of  all,  it 
offered  endless  opportunities  for  skill  in  versification 
and  the  technical  development  of  the  poet’s  art. 

Wyatt  and  Surrey  were  “ the  two  chief  lanterns  of 
light  ” to  all  who  in  that  century  wrote  poetry  in 
England.  In  the  words  of  Puttenham,  “ their  conceits 
were  lofty,  their  styles  stately,  . . . their  terms  proper, 
their  metre  sweet  and  well  proportioned,  in  all  imitat- 
ing very  naturally  and  studiously  this  Master  Francis 
Petrarch.”1  Yet  the  verse  of  neither  was  a slavish 
imitation  of  Petrarch.  Wyatt’s  fresher  English  mind 
rebelled  at  the  repetition  of  meaningless  conceits,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  language  he  made  use  of  was 


1 Puttenham,  op.  cit.,  p.  76. 


326  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


too  imperfect  a medium  to  convey  with  accuracy  the 
subtler  shades  of  meaning.  The  form  he  took  from 
Petrarch,  and  he  translated,  either  entirely  or  in  part,1 
many  of  his  sonnets,  though  rarely  literally.  His  at- 
tempts to  render  adequately  the  master’s  conceits 
usually  ended  in  failure ; recognizing  this,  he  often 
began  his  verse  with  a translation,  and,  realizing  his 
inability  to  go  on,  developed  fresh  thoughts  of  his 
own.2  In  other  sonnets  he  borrowed  only  a few 
lines  from  the  Italian.  It  cannot  be  said  that  he 
felt  at  home  in  the  rigid  form  he  had  selected ; the 
self-imposed  restraints  were  too  many  for  his  technical 
skill  and  proficiency ; nor  could  he  reproduce  the  con- 
struction of  the  successive  steps  which  built  up  the 
Petrarchan  sonnet.  The  busy  life  he  led  afforded 
him,  perhaps,  but  little  leisure  to  polish  his  verses. 
They  are  rarely  smooth,  and  are  in  striking  contrast 
to  the  polished  lines  of  his  master.  Wyatt’s  imagery, 
moreover,  was  generally  simpler  and  less  involved 
than  that  of  Petrarch.  He  could  not  compare  with 
him  in  skill,  and  the  conceits  he  attempted  were 
clumsy  and  ill-fitting  as  a rule.  Even  the  sonnet  form 
he  reproduced  but  feebly,  the  rhymes  being  often  bad 
and  the  metrical  effects  by  no  means  easy.  He  was 
unable  to  handle  it  properly,  while  his  translation 
was  inexact  and  his  technique  poor.  He  differed 
further  from  his  model  in  closing  the  sonnet  with  a 

1 Cf.  Wyatt,  Sonnets  I,  2,  4,  5,  9,  11,  13,  14,  18,  19,  20,  22, 
24,  31,  with  Petrarch,  Sonnets  109,  61,  220,  136,  81,  12,  104, 
156,  44,  99,  19,  188,  229,  120. 

2 Cf.  Wyatt,  Sonnet  4,  with  Petrarch,  220. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  327 


couplet  as  nearly  as  possible  epigrammatic  in  form, 
instead  of  employing  the  usual  Petrarchan  ending.1 
In  all  likelihood  both  Wyatt  and  Surrey  were  quite 
unaware  of  the  almost  sacred  spirit  in  which  the 
Italian  poets  approached  the  sonnet  form.  They 
probably  confused  it  with  the  popular  strambotto2 ; 
the  mistake  they  made  resulted,  however,  in  setting 
a new  English  example  which  was  followed  by  the 
Elizabethans. 

In  spite  of  Wyatt’s  deficiencies  and  lack  of  origi- 
nality, his  position  in  the  history  of  English  poetry  is 
of  the  greatest  importance.  Many  have  surpassed  him 
in  genius,  few  in  influence.  Although  Wyatt’s  native 
strength  and  lofty  ideal  of  patriotism  will  always 
endear  him  to  lovers  of  English  poetry,  his  historical 
significance  came  rather  from  his  having  been  the  first 
English  Petrarchist.  His  study  of  the  Italians  had 
taught  him  that  they  alone  offered  new  hope  for 
poetry,  and  their  forms  and  style  he  tried  to  repro- 
duce in  his  own  language.  To  use  Leland’s  words, 
the  English  tongue,  rude  and  rhythmless  before,  had 
heen  forced  by  him  to  acknowledge  the  master’s  file. 
He  was  the  real  teacher  of  the  “ courtly  makers,”  who 
learned  the  new  forms  from  his  example.3  Such  men 

1 Mellin  de  Saint  Gelays  makes  occasional  use  of  the  couplet 
ending. 

2 Nuova  Antologia , July  1,  1895,  article  by  De  Marchi. 

3 “ Anglica  lingua  fuit  rudis  et  sine  nomine  rhythmus 
Nunc  limam  agnoscit,  docte  Viati  luam  . * . 

Nobilitas  dedicit  te  prceceptore  Britan  na 
Carmina  pro  varios  scribere  posse  modos."  — Nee  nice. 


328  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

as  Sir  Francis  Bryan  and  Lords  Rochford,  Vaux, 
Morley,  and  especially  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  were  to 
carry  on  to  triumph  the  work  he  had  begun. 

Little  is  known  of  Surrey’s  literary  surroundings. 
The  legend  which  inspired  Nash  and  Drayton,  of  his 
travels  in  Italy  and  his  knightly  challenge  while  in 
Florence  to  all  who  dared  dispute  the  beauty  of  the 
fair  Geraldine,  has  been  proved  without  foundation. 
Almost  the  only  certainty  is  that  he  himself  was  never 
in  Italy.  His  acquaintance  with  Petrarch  and  his  school 
came,  therefore,  from  such  men  as  Wyatt  and  Leland, 
who  had  returned  from  foreign  travels,  and  perhaps 
also  from  some  of  the  numerous  Italians  at  the  court. 
The  romantic  interest  which  attaches  itself  to  his  life 
is  due  in  large  measure  to  his  surroundings,  youth  and 
his  untimely  death. 

As  a poet,  however,  he  showed  far  greater  readiness 
and  ease  in  technique  than  did  Wyatt ; he  was  not  bur- 
dened by  the  form,  nor  did  the  language  present  such 
irksome  restraints  to  him.  The  medium  lay  there 
before  him ; it  was  his  task  to  give  beauty  where  pre- 
viously there  had  been  none,  and  lend  to  it  style,  dis- 
tinction and  polish.  It  is  only  necessary  to  compare 
his  sonnet  translations  from  Petrarch  with  correspond- 
ing ones  by  Wyatt  to  see  the  difference  between  the 
two  and  Surrey’s  artistic  superiority.  The  latter  fell 
in  better  with  the  Petrarchan  tradition.  Geraldine 
was  his  Laura,  while  Wyatt  cannot  be  said  to  have 
had  any  ideal  mistress.  In  form  of  thought,  as  well 
as  in  matter,  Surrey  was  more  akin  to  Petrarch, 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  329 


although  in  metrical  structure  he  does  not  follow 
him  so  closely.  Generally  a single  dominant  idea 
runs  through  his  poems,  and  around  it  are  grouped 
kindred  thoughts  and  images,  often  ending  in  an  epi- 
gram, the  same  motive  being  repeated  in  different 
forms.  The  various  moods  and  inconsistencies  of 
love  were  among  his  favorite  subjects,  and  these  he 
expressed  with  a beauty  and  distinction  gathered  from 
the  Italian.  Just  as  Wyatt,  by  introducing  the  Italian 
verse  forms  into  England,  brought  new  vigor  and  life 
to  its  decaying  poetry,  so  Surrey  brought  in  the  Italian 
artistic  conscience,  the  love  of  polish  and  style  and 
the  aim  toward  perfection.  Wyatt  had  striven  in  the 
right  direction,  but  had  misunderstood  the  nature 
of  the  Italian  sonnet.  Surrey  likewise  ignored  the 
Italian  structure,  and  made  use  of  a model  which  was 
to  be  followed  by  Watson  and  Shakespeare.  Sur- 
rey’s innovations  were  generally  in  the  direction  of 
new  forms.  In  one  poem  he  employed  the  terza 
rima,  a form  which  never  took  kindly  root  on  English 
soil.  In  translating  the  /Eneid , he  also  first  made 
use  in  English  of  a decasyllabic  blank  verse,  the  versi 
sciolti,yf hich  Cardinal  Ippolito  de’  Medici  and  Molza 
had  employed  in  similar  renderings  only  a few 
years  before.  Of  his  other  innovations  in  syntax  and 
metre  little  need  here  be  said ; he  and  Wyatt  stand 
together  as  the  exponents  and  advocates  of  the  Pe- 
trarchan influence  in  the  new  English  school  of  poetry 
they  had  founded. 

The  Petrarchan  movement  was  slow  at  the  start  to 


330  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


take  root  in  England ; neither  its  language  nor  its 
ideas  proved  congenial  at  first.  Its  very  conceits 
were  misinterpreted  in  the  beginning  by  the  slow- 
witted  English,  who  took  its  stock  of  lovers’  pangs  and 
sufferings  quite  literally.  Gascoigne  complained  bit- 
terly of  this  lack  of  appreciation  and  of  readers  who 
construed  “ the  contentions  passed  in  verse  long  since 
between  Mr.  Churchyard  and  Camel  to  have  been,  in 
truth,  a quarrel  between  two  neighbors  ...  of  whom 
one  having  a camel  in  keeping,  and  that  other  having 
charge  of  the  churchyard,  it  was  supposed  they  had 
grown  to  debate  because  the  camel  came  into  the 
churchyard.  Laugh  not  at  this,  lusty  yunkers,  since 
the  pleasant  ditty  of  the  noble  Earl  of  Surrey  begin- 
ning thus,  In  Winter's  just  return,  was  also  construed 
to  be  made  indeed  by  a shepherd.  ...  Of  a truth  my 
good  gallants,  there  are  such  as  having  only  learned  to 
read  English,  interpret  Latin,  Greek,  French,  and 
Italian  phrases  or  metaphors,  even  according  to  their 
own  motherly  conception  and  childish  skill.”  1 When, 
however,  numerous  Englishmen  returning  from  Italian 
travels  brought  back  with  them  a knowledge  of  the 
Tuscan  revival  which  had  swept  over  Italy,  and  reports 
of  Bembo  and  his  school  holding  their  country’s  poets 
in  no  less  esteem  than  the  ancients,  the  vogue  for  the 
Petrarchan  sonnet  set  in  also  in  England. 

Following  an  example  often  practised  in  Italy,  Tot- 
ters Miscellany,  the  first  English  collection  of  verse,  was 
brought  out  in  1557.  While  many  of  the  new  forms 
1 Gascoigne’s  Posies,  1575,  preface. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  33 1 


of  poetry  were  here  published  for  the  first  time  in  Eng- 
land, several  of  the  poets  who  contributed  to  it  were 
practically  unaffected  by  the  Italian  lyric.  Nicholas 
Grimald,  for  instance,  in  spite  of  his  Italian  origin, 
belonged  rather  to  the  classical  school.  An  occasional 
use  of  conceits  can  be  discovered  in  the  verse  of 
Barnabe  Googe,1  but  he  had  no  real  conception  of  the 
rigid  form  and  structure  of  the  Petrarchan  sonnet, 
although  nearly  all  his  lyrics,  regardless  of  length,  were 
called  “ sonnets  ” in  accordance  with  the  loose  mediae- 
val use  of  the  word.  Turbervile,  likewise,  although 
possessing  a good  knowledge  of  Italian,2  made  no  real 
use  of  the  sonnet ; and  George  Gascoigne,  whom  an 
Italian  friend  called  “ an  imitator  of  Petrarch,” 3 in 
spite  of  a few  sonnets  of  the  conventional  type,  pre- 
ferred the  less  rigid  structure  of  the  canzone,  and 
copied  the  Tuscan  lyric  in  spirit  rather  than  in  form. 
Petrarch,  however,  was  to  become  more  and  more  the 
recognized  leader  of  the  school,  the  “head  and  prince 
of  poets  all.”  4 No  one,  it  was  thought,  could  com- 
pare to  him  as  a poet,  nor  had  any  one  attained  so 
lofty  a style.5  Several  of  the  sonnets  in  the  Miscellany 
were  modelled  on  those  of  Petrarch,  although  they 
had  already  been  translated  by  Wyatt.6  The  original 

1 Poetns,  p.  94  el  seq. 

2 Vide  Anglia,  XIII,  article  by  Koeppel. 

3 Gascoigne’s  Posies,  1575,  commendatory  letter  in  the  preface. 

4 Tottel's  Miscellany,  •$.  178. 

6 Ibid.,  p.  178,  second  sonnet.  / 

6 Ibid.,  p.  260;  cf.  Petrarch,  Sonnet  156,  and  Wyatt,  Son- 
net 14. 


332  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


type  was  by  this  time  firmly  established  in  the  courtier’s 
mind,  and  many  people  of  note  were  writing  imitations 
of  the  Petrarchan  sonnet.  For  a time,  however,  the 
use  of  the  sonnet  form  remained  stationary  in  England. 
At  first  it  had  been  known  only  at  the  court.  A cer- 
tain time  was  to  elapse  before  it  was  generally  adopted. 

Thomas  Watson,  in  his  Passiotiate  Century  of  Love , 
began  afresh  the  later  revival  of  the  sonnet.  His  ad- 
mirers had  discovered  that  he  could  write  verse  in  the 
Petrarchan  manner. 

The  stars  which  did  at  Petrarch’s  birthday  reign 
Were  fixed  again  at  thy  nativity, 

Destining  thee  the  Tuscan’s  poesy, 

Who  scaled  the  skies  in  lofty  quatorzain.1 

In  his  effort  to  improve  the  form,  he  added  to  it  a 
four-lined  stanza ; at  the  same  time  he  regarded  him- 
self as  a successor  to  Petrarch,  by  translating  whose 
sonnets  into  Latin 2 he  had  begun  his  poetical  career. 

Watson  became  the  most  popular  poet  of  his  time, 
and  probably  to  him  more  than  any  one  else  was  due 
the  fashion  of  the  sonnet  in  England.  It  is  difficult 
to-day  to  explain  the  great  vogue  his  verse  enjoyed 
by  any  other  reason  than  its  reintroducing  the 
Petrarchan  fashion.  His  so-called  “passions”  had  not 
even  the  pretence  of  true  emotion  or  feeling  in  them, 
and  were,  in  fact,  little  else  than  verses  pieced  to- 
gether from  the  poetry  of  foreign  Petrarchists.  The 
sources  in  every  case  were  openly  acknowledged,  as 

1 Commendatory  Sonnet  to  Watson,  by  G.  Burke. 

2 Watson,  Passion,  VI. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  333 


they  tended  to  show  the  author’s  erudition.  Petrarch, 
Serafino,  Strozza,  Firenzuola,  and  others,  were  alike 
brought  under  contribution  to  illustrate  his  wit.  He 
imitated  especially  the  conceits  which  formed  so  largely 
the  stock  of  the  Petrarchan  school.  The  inward  feel- 
ing of  love  which  was  the  main  theme  of  this  kind  of 
poetry  offered  but  little  variety  of  expression.  The 
successors  of  Petrarch,  therefore,  in  order  to  escape 
monotony,  made  use  of  extravagant  metaphors  and 
exaggeration.  Watson  took  from  the  Italians  chiefly 
their  conceits  and  affectations  — such,  for  instance,  as 
Cupid  shooting  an  arrow  from  his  mistress’s  fair  eyes, 
and  so  wounding  the  poet  with  love  and  desire  that  he 
was  beyond  all  remedy.1  Occasionally  the  affectation 
took  an  outward  metrical  form  as  well,  and  verse  was 
written  in  the  eccentric  shape  of  “A  Pasquin  Pillar.” 
Nowhere  was  any  real  attempt  made  at  originality  or 
freshness  of  expression,  while  at  all  times  a display  of 
erudition  was  aimed  at : in  a single  poem 2 he  cited 
no  less  than  twelve  sources.  The  form  and  spirit  were 
alike  handed  down  to  him  by  the  tradition  of  the 
Petrarchan  school.  His  only  task  was  to  remodel  in 
English  the  mosaic  of  Italian  phrases. 

The  Elizabethan  sonnets  seem  at  first  glance  to 
yield  a rich  harvest  of  intimate  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions, to  take  the  reader  into  the  poet’s  confidence 
and  lay  bare  his  soul  for  him.3  It  is  only  after 
comparing  together,  the  English  with  the  French, 

1 Passion,  XXIV,  from  Serafino.  2 Passion,  LXXXIX. 

3 Cf.  Lee,  Shakespeare,  p.  427. 


334  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Spanish  and  Italian,  and  tracing  them  back  to  their 
source  in  Petrarch  and  his  imitators,  that  a common 
stock  of  expressions  and  conceits  appears  throughout. 
No  matter  how  much  the  individual  genius  of  the  poet 
may  have  added  new  beauties  of  his  own,  underneath 
it  all  certain  forms  and  modes  of  thought  remain 
unaltered.  The  high  artistic  seriousness  of  the  Ital- 
ians may  perhaps  have  been  lessened  when  the  sonnet 
was  transplanted  to  English  soil.  A greater  sensuality, 
and  possibly  a nearer  approach  to  nature,  made  itself 
felt,  but  the  groundwork  of  the  whole  remained 
identical.  The  same  relations  still  existed  between 
the  lady  and  her  lover.  In  the  poetic  jargon  of  the 
time,  she  was  cold,  cruel,  insensible  to  him,  while  he 
was  timid  and  unworthy  of  her.  Petrarch  had  estab- 
lished a series  of  states  necessary  for  every  lover  to 
pass  through  ; his  Laura  became  a pattern  for  all  poets.1 
To  show  the  true  spirit  of  devotion  there  were  defi- 
nite sufferings  they  had  to  endure : alternately  to 
burn  and  freeze,  to  sorrow  when  removed  from  the 
beloved  one’s  presence,  to  live  only  in  her  sight, 
and  feel  that  all  inspiration  proceeded  from  her  alone. 
Convention  demanded  certain  things  ; the  Petrarchan 
lady  was  to  be  as  beautiful  and  virtuous  as  she  was 
cold  and  indifferent  to  her  lover.  The  type  never 
varied ; she  possessed  no  individuality,  no  life  nor 
movement ; she  was,  in  fact,  a stationary  sun,  radiat- 
ing all  happiness  yet  insensible  of  her  own  attraction. 

A common  poetic  language  was  employed  by  the 

1 Cf.  Daniel,  Delia , Sonnet  XLIII. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  335 


Petrarchists  of  the  sixteenth  century.  There  was  a 
similarity,  not  only  in  spirit,  but  in  expression  as  well. 
The  same  literary  artifices  can  be  traced  throughout 
in  the  frequent  use  of  antitheses,  puns,  conceits  and 
even  occasional  grotesqueness.  Tricks  of  enumera- 
tion, a constant  display  of  erudition,  a use  of  meta- 
physical ideas  and  abstractions,  were  all  characteristic 
of  this  school.  There  had  been  a constant  use,  or 
rather  abuse,  in  Petrarch,  of  eyes  and  hair,  of  tears  and 
sorrow,  of  fire  and  cold.  All  this  was  greatly  exag- 
gerated by  his  successors ; the  happiness  of  nature 
was  contrasted  with  the  misery  of  the  lover,  and  the 
same  tricks  of  style  were  repeated  again  and  again.1 

The  great  faults  in  Petrarch  had  been  excess  of 
refinement,  with  its  necessary  removal  from  real  life, 
and  exaggeration  of  feeling.  His  followers,  especially 
in  Italy,  developed  his  affectation  in  ideas  and  expres- 
sion. To  escape  direct  imitation  or  translation, 
foreign  Petrarchists  would  fall  into  errors  of  taste  and 
abuse  of  metaphor,  which  led  to  the  over-employment 
of  mythology  to  illustrate  what  they  had  in  mind. 
Their  poetic  efforts  were  directed,  therefore,  toward 
form  rather  than  to  originality  of  expression.  The  Pe- 
trarchan tricks  of  style  were  easily  mastered ; its  ex- 
pressions, ideas  and  feelings  were  alike  at  the  disposal 
of  the  poet-mechanic,  while  the  form  of  allegory  pre- 
sented an  easy  method  of  expressing  imaginary 
passion ; the  use  of  superlatives  and  a redundant 
phraseology  could  swell  out  any  conceit  to  the  re- 

1 Vide  Pieri,  op.  cit.,  pp.  88,  137. 


336  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


quired  fourteen  lines.  A poet  had  only  to  select 
some  lady  and  celebrate  her  charms ; in  this  fashion 
Sidney  chose  his  Stella,  Lodge  his  Phillis,  Giles 
Fletcher  his  Licia,  Constable  his  Diana.  To  imitate 
Petrarch  became  the  greatest  ambition  of  every  poet. 
Churchyard  spoke  of  “ One  Barnes  that  Petrarch’s 
scholar  is  ” ; and  Gabriel  Harvey  had  already  called 
Spenser  “ An  English  Petrarch,”  as  the  highest 
praise  he  could  give,  further  justifying  his  imita- 
tion of  him,  since  “all  the  noblest  Italian,  French 
and  Spanish  poets  have  in  their  several  veins  Pe- 
trarchized ; and  it  is  no  dishonor  for  the  dainti- 
est or  divinest  Muse  to  be  his  scholar,  whom  the 
amiablest  invention  and  beautifullest  elocution  ac- 
knowledged their  master.” 1 It  was  in  vain  that 
Sidney  protested  against  this  imitation ; that  he  de- 
rided those  who  searched  “ every  purling  spring  which 
from  the  ribs  of  old  Parnasus  flows,”  brought  “ dic- 
tionary’s method”  into  their  rhymes,  and 

Poor  Petrarch’s  long  deceased  woes 
With  new-born  sighs  and  denisened  wit  do  sing.2 

In  spite,  too,  of  his  asserting  that  he  was  no  “ pick- 
purse  of  another’s  wit,” 3 he  himself  conformed  to  all 
the  rules  of  the  Petrarchan  poetry.  The  spirit  of 
his  conceits  was  often  very  similar,  and  there  was 
more  than  one  resemblance  between  his  sonnets  and 

1 G.  Harvey,  Pierce's  Supererogation.  Works , II,  93. 

2 Sidney,  Astropkel  and  Stella,  Sonnet  XV. 

8 Ibid.,  LXXIV. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  337 


those  of  the  Italian  Petrarchists.1  Stella  represented 
the  conventional  type  of  lady,  “ cold  and  cruel,”  who 
found  pleasure  in  her  lover’s  pain ; he  too  felt  heart 
burnings 2 and  the  power  of  love ; for  his  heartstrings 
had  been  stretched  on  Cupid’s  bow.3  Many  of  his 
tricks  of  style  were  likewise  thoroughly  Petrarchan. 
In  spite  of  calling  those  who  flaunted  their  thoughts  in 
fine  phrases  “ Pindar’s  Apes,”  4 he  also  made  frequent 
use  of  conceits,  employing  at  different  times  the  vari- 
ous tricks  of  style  of  this  school : enumeration,  repe- 
tition, punning,  antithesis  and  elaborate  metaphors 
sustained  to  the  end  of  the  sonnet.  His  interspersing 
of  songs  with  sonnets,  moreover,  was  in  strict  accord- 
ance with  the  Petrarchan  model.  Sidney’s  poetry, 
however,  in  spite  of  the  elements  of  imitation,  differed 
from  Petrarch’s ; there  was  in  it  more  life  and  vigor, 
and  also  less  art.  He  was  far  younger  and  fresher, 
more  natural  and  less  restrained ; more  sensual,  too, 
as  were  indeed  all  the  English  Petrarchists,  who,  not 
satisfied  with  the  distant  adoration  of  their  ladies, 
longed  for  their  kisses  as  well.5 

The  numerous  Elizabethan  collections  of  sonnets 
betray  alike  in  one  form  or  another  their  Italian 
sources  and  ideas.  The  Visions  of  Petrarch,  published 
in  1569  in  Van  der  Noodt’s  Theatre,  have  now  been 
assigned  to  Spenser.6  This  collection,  which  showed 

1 Romanische  Forschungen,  V,  90.  Article  by  E.  Koeppel. 

2 Sidney,  Sonnet  LXXVI.  3 Ibid.,  XIX. 

4 Ibid.,  III.  6 Ibid.,  LXXIX,  LXXXI-II. 

6 Englische  Stndien,  1891.  Article  by  E.  Koeppel. 


338  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


traces  of  Ariosto,  Sannazaro  and  Tasso  as  well  as 
Petrarch,  he  called  by  the  Italian  name  of  Amoretti. 
Conceits  which  had  been  adapted  or  imitated  can 
be  found  even  in  Shakespeare’s  sonnets,  for  he  assimi- 
lated the  thoughts  and  words  of  the  Elizabethan  Pe- 
trarchists  with  as  little  compunction  as  the  plays  and 
novels  of  his  contemporaries  ;*  his  views  of  ideal  beauty 
as  independent  of  time,  of  the  power  of  love  as  superior 
to  its  accidents,  his  very  boasting  that  he  would  confer 
immortality  on  the  person  he  addressed,  were  merely 
repetitions  of  what  had  become  the  commonplaces  of 
European  poetry.2 

The  expressions  of  the  English  Petrarchists  were 
all  variations  of  a single  principle.  The  differences 
between  them  were  only  of  degree,  some  more  than 
others  attaining  the  ingenuity  and  polish  sought  for. 
All  alike  reveal  a common  fund  of  ideas  and  condi- 
tions, out  of  which  their  poetry  developed.  Some- 
times indeed  the  Italianization  proceeded  a little 
farther  than  at  others  ; thus  Italian  mottoes  begin 
and  end  the  Zepheria,  which  also  contained  verses  ad- 
dressed Alii  veri  figliuoli  delle  Muse ; in  certain  of  the 
“ Canzons  ” 3 in  this  collection  there  was  even  a curi- 
ous combination  of  the  pastoral  of  Sannazaro  and  the 
Petrarchan  sonnet ; the  English  imitators  of  Petrarch, 
however,  often  differed  from  their  master  in  trying  to 
wind  up  their  sonnets  with  a couplet  in  epigram. 

1 S.  Lee,  Shakespeare,  p.  109  et  seq. 

2 Ibid.,  p.  1 14.  Vide  also  G.  Wyndham,  Poems  of  Shakspeare, 

p.  cxiii  et  seq.  3 Canzon  II. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY.  339 


Henry  Constable  was,  perhaps,  after  Watson,  the 
most  conspicuous  of  the  Petrarchistic  poets.  His 
sonnets  are  full  of  concetti  and  exaggerated  expres- 
sions of  all  kinds.  His  mistress’s  eye,  he  declared,  was 
the  glass  through  which  he  saw  his  heart,  his  own  eye 
the  window  through  which  she  might  see  his ; 1 his 
only  idea  in  writing  was  to  sacrifice  his  sighs  to  verse.2 
The  entire  expression  of  his  thought  was  of  the  con- 
ventional type  ; he  was  the  lover  languishing,  she  the 
cruel  mistress.  The  other  sonnetteers  of  the  age, 
Barnfield,  Daniel,  Griffin,  Drayton,  Lodge  and  the 
rest,  betray  the  same  tendencies.3  Giles  Fletcher 
openly  acknowledged  his  sonnets  to  be  imitations. 
Robert  Tofte  wrote  most  of  the  stanzas  of  his  Laura 
in  Italy.4  Nearly  all  the  English  poets  had  then 
travelled  abroad,  and  Dallington  even  gave  advice  to 
such  of  his  travellers  in  Italy  as  were  anxious  to  follow 
the  muse.5 

A reaction,  however,  set  in  against  the  domination 
of  Petrarch.  The  very  poets  who  felt  most  his  influ- 
ence were  to  revolt  against  it.  Giles  Fletcher,  in  the 
preface  to  Licia,  protested  against  “ those  who  think 
so  basely  of  our  bare  English  that  they  deem  themselves 
barbarous  . . . unless  they  have  borrowed  from  Italy, 

1 Sonnet  5.  2 Ibid.,  1. 

3 Cf.  Lodge,  Sonnet  11,  with  Petrarch,  156,  and  Wyatt,  14. 
Lodge  was  indebted  as  well  to  Dolce,  Martelli,  and  Lodovico 
Pascale,  etc.  ( Edinburgh  Review,  January,  1896,  p.  51). 

4 Laura,  the  Toys  of  a Traveler,  dedicated  “Alla  Bellissima 

Sua  Signora,”  and  signed  “ Affetionatissimo  servitore  della 
divina  bellezza  sua,  R.  T.”  5 Method  for  Travel. 


340  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


Spain,  and  France,  their  best  and  choicest  conceits.” 
Shakespeare  likewise  made  fun  of  what  he  once  had 
practised  himself,1  and  even  Sir  John  Davies  parodied 
the  craze  in  a series  of  “ gulling  sonnets.” 

Ill 

A feeling  of  native  excellence  was  springing  up  in 
England.  Francis  Meres  echoed  it,  when  he  com- 
pared his  own  countrymen,  poets  and  artists  to  the 
Greeks,  the  Romans  and  the  Italians.  William  Clarke 
wrote  in  similar  vein : “ Let  other  countries  sweet 
Cambridge  envy  yet  admire  . . . thy  Petrarch,  sweet 
Spenser.”  He  urged  Englishmen  to  write  as  if  “ Italian 
Ariosto  did  but  shadow  the  meanest  part  of  thy  muse, 
that  Tassa’s  Godfrey  is  not  worthy  to  make  compare 
with  your  truly  eternizing  Eliza’s  style.” 2 Samuel 
Daniel,  likewise,  who  had  been  in  Italy  and  had  met 
Guarini,3  looked  forward  to  seeing  “ Great  Sidney 
and  our  Spenser  ” ranked  as  the  equals  of  the  Italian 
poets  — 

That  the  melody  of  our  sweet  isle, 

Might  now  be  heard  to  Tyber,  Arne,  and  Po; 

That  they  might  know  how  far  Thames  doth  outgo 
The  music  of  declined  Italy.4 

1 Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  III,  II,  68;  Henry  Fifth,  III, 
vii,  33  et  seq.  Vide  also  Lee,  op.  cit.,  p.  107  et  seq. 

2 Polimanteia,  1595. 

3 Commendatory  sonnet  to  Dymock’s  translation  of  the  Pastor 
Fido. 

4 Epistle  to  the  Countess  of  Pembroke,  in  the  preface  to  his 
Cleopatra. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  341 


Spenser  himself  was  fully  aware  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  task  he  had  set  out  to  accomplish,  and  considered 
himself  in  the  direct  line  of  epic  inheritance  from 
Homer  and  Virgil,  Ariosto  and  Tasso.  Not  only  did 
he  model  his  own  verse  form  on  the  ottava  rima  of 


the  Italians,  but  in  the  entire  structure  of  the  Faerie 


Queene  he  kept  the  example  of  the  Italian  romantic 
epic  constantly  in  mind.  In  a letter  to  Harvey,  he 
wrote  that  he  looked  forward  to  “overgoing  Ariosto.” 
To  Spenser,  however,  the  aims  of  the  Italian  poets 
seemed  lofty  and  moral.  He  read  the  Orlando  from 
his  own  ideal  point  of  view ; \ the  bare  facts  of  Ariosto 
he  made  use  of  just  as  he  took  his  satire,  quite  seri- 
ously, entirely  ignoring  the  irony ; his  imitation,  how- 
ever, was  in  many  cases  deliberate,  and  there  are 
numerous  passages  both  in  the  Orlando  and  in  Tasso’s 
Gerusalemnie  Liberata  which  he  either  adapted  or 
translated  from  the  Italian.2  Frequently,  too,  he  took 
only  the  external  facts  from  Ariosto,  but  remodelled 
them  in  such  a way  as  to  remove  all  humorous  sug- 
gestions ; thus,  for  instance,  the  scene  where  Zerbino 
jousts  with  Marfisa  over  the  old  hag  Gabrina  was  re- 


1 Vide  Spenser’s  Imitations  from  Ariosto,  Proceedings  Mod- 
ern Language  Association,  1897,  P-  7°  e*  se9-  Also  Warton, 
Observations  on  the  Faerie  Queene,  I,  272  et  seq.;  J.  Schrombs,  Ari- 
osto und  F.nglische  Literatur. 

2 Vide  Anglia,  XI.  Article  by  E.  Koeppel.  Cf. : 

Faerie  Queene,  I,  II,  30-31,  Gerusalemme  Liberata,  XIII,  41-42. 
“ “ III,  31,  “ “ III,  4. 

“ “ VII,  31,  “ “ IX,  25. 

“ “ XI,  44,  “ “ VI,  8. 

“ “ XII,  21,  “ “ XV,  60,  etc. 


342  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


produced  by  Spenser  in  all  seriousness.1  Again,  he 
occasionally  reversed  the  situation  ^as  when  he  made 
a triumph  of  chastity  out  of  an  amorous  scene,2  treat- 
ing with  perfect  decorum  the  most  daring  passages  in 
Ariosto. 

The  importance  of  the  Italian  influence  on  Spenser 
has  often  been  exaggerated,  especially  by  continen- 
tal critics,  who,  looking  at  the  surface  rather  than 
the  spirit,  have  seen  reflected  in  the  poem  the  art 
and  beauty  of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  Even  where 
Spenser  made  use  of  characters  and  situations  sug- 
gested by  Ariosto,  and  of  descriptions  by  Tasso,  the 
Faerie  Queene  was  yet  written  in  a spirit  far  different 
from  that  which  inspired  the  Italian  romantic  epic. 
Its  austerity  inclined  rather  to  the  Platonism  of  Pe- 
trarch than  the  easy  self-indulgence  of  Ariosto,  or  the 
high-colored  seriousness  of  Tasso.  The  Italian  literary 
influence  can  be  traced  in  Spenser  in  outward  form 
rather  than  in  inward  spirit.  It  was  well  for  Watson 
or  Constable,  devoid  of  originality,  to  borrow  feelings 
and  thoughts  where  they  themselves  possessed  none. 
Minor  poets  who  wrote  sonnets  because  others  did 
likewise  could  steal  outright  from  their  Italian  sources. 
The  greater  ones,  however,  like  Shakespeare,  would  seek 
in  Italy  only  those  elements  which  England  did  not 
offer ; the  outer  shell,  the  framework  and  structure, 

1 Orlando  Furioso,  XX,  1 1 3 et  seq. ; cf.  Faerie  Queene,  IV, 
iv,  9. 

2 Orlando  Furioso,  VII,  21  et  seq.  ; cf.  Faerie  Queene,  II,  ill, 
21  et  seq. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  343 


could  be  obtained  there  better  than  at  home.  A 
learned  poet  like  Spenser  would  find  there  as  well  a 
more  serious  conception  of  the  dignity  of  poetry,  an 
artistic  conscience,  and  a love  of  beauty  for  its  own 
sake,  which  he  could  well  emulate.  But  beyond  it  all 
went  something  deeper,  and  any  appreciation  of  the 
Faerie  Queene,  other  than  as  a gallery  of  splendid 
pictures  and  a stringing  together  of  beautiful  lines, 
must  find  behind  it  the  genius  of  Spenser,  almost 
untouched  in  spirit  by  foreign  influence.  As  an 
artist  he  obeyed  willingly  the  canons  of  the  roman- 
tic epic ; he  made  use  in  introductory  stanzas  of  cer- 
tain of  Ariosto’s  mechanical  details.  His  imitation 
extended  even  to  the  characters  of  the  plot ; Arthur, 
like  Orlando,  was  merely  the  ostensible  hero ; Brag- 
gadocchio  was  suggested  by  Rodomonte  and  Man- 
dricardo,  Archimago  by  Atlante;  Arthegall  and  Brito- 
mart,  likewise,  were  based  to  a certain  extent  on 
Ruggiero  and  Bradamante ; their  various  actions  had 
all  their  counterparts  in  the  Orlando } The  structure 
of  the  poem  showed  that  at  every  stage  of  the  compo- 
sition he  was  influenced  by  the  manner  and  methods 
of  Ariosto,  just  as  Tasso  appealed  to  him  in  descrip- 
tions.2 Spenser  felt,  however,  no  deep  interest  either 
in  the  story  or  in  his  characters ; the  Faerie  Queene 
was  both  reflective  and  picturesque,  differing  altogether 
from  its  model.  The  resemblances  between  the  two 
poems  were  thus  on  the  surface,  the  differences  in 

1 Proc.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.,  1897,  p.  128. 

2 Courthope,  English  Poetry,  II,  259. 


344  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


the  spirit.  The  one  poet  was  the  Puritan  Platonist 
of  the  English  Renaissance  inheriting  the  traditions 
of  mediseval  allegory ; the  other  was  the  child  of 
sixteenth  century  Italy,  the  contemporary  of  Machi- 
avelli  and  Aretino.  The  one  was  anxious  to  present 
the  perfect  gentleman  “in  virtuous  and  gentle  disci- 
pline,” concerned  alone  with  his  moral  qualities ; the 
other  wished  merely  to  amuse,  serious  only  in  his 
artistic  conscience.  Art  was  thus  the  common  bond 
uniting  them ; it  drew  Spenser  toward  Italy,  and 
made  his  greatness  as  a poet  shine  in  the  austerity 
and  purity  of  his  spirit,  presented  with  the  beauty  of 
his  art. 

Art  was  the  great  lesson  Italy  had  to  teach  England. 
Energy,  freshness,  imagination,  purity  and  sweetness 
belonged  alike  to  the  English  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
They  were  deficient,  however,  in  form  and  measure, 
and  the  artistic  qualities  of  style.  It  was  precisely  in 
these  qualities  that  the  Italians  were  supreme.  In  Italy 
the  development  of  two  centuries  had  brought  with  it 
a technical  perfection  in  art ; hardly  would  one  literary 
form  be  exhausted  before  another  would  spring  up. 
When  the  lyric  had  nothing  further  to  offer,  the  ro- 
mantic epic  and  pastoral  took  its  place,  each  in  turn 
finding  its  perfect  expression.  The  constant  pres- 
ence, moreover,  of  classical  models  strengthened  the 
artistic  conscience  of  Italian  poetry,  while  the  lack  of 
all  other  restraints  in  life  served  to  concentrate  on  art 
the  same  qualities  which  in  northern  Europe  found 
their  outlet  in  moral  conduct.  It  was  only  in  Plato- 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  345 


nism  that  the  spirit  of  Spenser  can  be  said  to  have 
been  affected  by  Italy.  The  intellectual  atmosphere  of 
Cambridge  was  then  Platonic,  which  meant  not  only 
the  influence  of  the  master,  but  even  more  of  the 
fifteenth-century  neo-Platonists  whose  aims  had  been 
directed  toward  reconciling  the  doctrines  of  Plato  with 
Christianity.  Spenser  himself  was  perfectly  familiar 
with  Italian  Platonism,  and  repeated  its  current  thoughts 
in  his  hymns  on  heavenly  love  and  beauty. 

The  Platonic  writings  of  Ficino  and  Pico  della 
Mirandola  had  been  known  in  England  since  the  time 
of  Colet.  Later,  Sir  John  Cheke,  who  had  lived  at 
Padua,  and  Roger  Ascham  both  taught  Platonism  at 
Cambridge.  Other  Italian  books  on  philosophical  sub- 
jects were  translated  into  English.1  The  influence  of 
Italian  philosophy  was  likewise  felt  when  Giordano 
Bruno,  whose  doctrines  of  love  were  neo-Platonic,  came 
to  England,  where  he  lived  for  two  years,  lecturing  at 
Oxford  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  holding  there 
a public  disputation.  Bruno,  while  disgusted  by  the 
ignorance  and  conceit  of  the  doctors  of  the  university 
with  whom  he  disputed,2  was  more  than  pleased  at  his 
reception  by  the  cultivated  circle  of  which  Sidney  and 
Fulke  Greville  were  the  chief  luminaries.  In  their  pres- 

1 Circes  of  John  Baptiste  Gello,  Florentine , translated  out  of 
Italian  into  English  by  Henry  Iden,  1557.  The  Fearful  Fan- 
cies of  the  Florentine  Cooper  written  in  Tuscan  by  John  Baptiste 
Gelli,  one  of  the  free  study  of  Florence,  translated  into  English 
by  W.  Barker,  Pensoso  d'  Altrui,  London,  11568. 

2 La  Cena  dei  Ceneri,  ed.  Wagner,  p.  1 79. 


346  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


ence  he  expounded  the  new  Copernican  philosophy, 
while  he  dedicated  two  of  his  books  to  Sidney.1 2 


IV 

Italy,  where  the  influence  of  rediscovered  classic 
form  arrested,  for  a century,  the  course  of  native  litera- 
ture, led  the  way  in  reviving  the  writing  of  Latin  verse. 
Petrarch,  whose  Latin  Africa  gave  an  example,  found 
worthy  successors  in  Vida,  Fracastoro  and  Sannazaro. 
Several  of  the  Italian  classical  poets,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, came  to  England.  Peter  Carmeliano  of  Brescia 
wrote  a poetical  epistle  on  the  birth  of  Prince  Arthur ; 
Johannes  Opicius,  who  was  probably  an  Italian,  com- 
posed royal  panegyrics  in  the  classical  style  and  Gio- 
vanni Gigli,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  wrote  a Latin  epi- 
thalamium  on  an  English  subject.  Later,  Ammonio 
and  Adrian  de  Castello  were  both  to  be  celebrated  for 
their  classical  verse.  Marcellus  Palingenius,  however, 
was  the  Italian  whose  works  proved  most  popular 
beyond  the  Alps.  His  Zodiac  of  Life?  translated  by 
Barnabe  Googe,  went  through  half  a dozen  English 
editions.  Its  supposed  Protestantism  and  violent 
denunciation  of  the  loose  living  of  the  clergy  made  it 

1 G.  Bruno’s  most  important  Italian  works  were  also  printed 
in  London:  Spaccio  De  La  Bestia  Trionfante  . . . Parigi 
(London),  1584;  Giordano  Bruno  Nolano,  Del  gl'  Heroici 
Furori  Al  moltolllustre  et  eccellente  Cavalliero,  Signor  Phillippo 
Sidneo,  Parigi  (London?),  1585. 

2 The  First  Six  Books  of  Marcellus  Palingenius,  translated 
by  Barnabe  Googe,  1561. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  347 


rank  almost  as  a classic  in  England  and  other  Protes- 
tant countries.1 

Sir  Thomas  More,  George  Buchanan  and  Alexander 
Barclay  were  conspicuous  among  those  who  distin- 
guished themselves  by  their  .Latin  poetry,  More  by 
his  epigrams,  and  Buchanan  by  his  classical  tragedies, 
though  he  excelled  no  less  in  other  forms  of  verse. 
The  fashion  for  writing  Latin  verse,  however,  was  in  no 
sense  an  original  movement,  but  merely  continued  what 
had  long  since  begun  in  Italy.  It  seemed  in  many  cases 
as  if  antiquity  interpreted  by  Italians  was  more  congenial 
to  the  English  than  the  ancient  works  themselves. 
This  perhaps  accounted  for  the  extraordinary  vogue 
enjoyed  by  the  eclogues  of  Baptista  Mantuanus,2  which 
in  Shakespeare’s  boyhood  were  even  read  in  the 
grammar  schools.3  Alexander  Barclay,  in  his  own 
eclogues,4  imitated  openly  both  Mantuanus  and  y£neas 
Sylvius,  calling  the  former  “ the  best  of  that  sort,  since 
poets  first  began.” 

The  literary  forms  of  antiquity,  after  remaining  sterile 
for  many  centuries,  came  into  use  once  more  with  the 
Renaissance.  The  influence  of  classical  models  was 
to  breathe  new  life  into  poetry.  The  pastoral  was 
only  one  of  the  many  forms  which,  first  imitated 
in  Italy,  were  later  to  flourish  in  other  European 

1 Warton,  English  Poetry,  IV,  282. 

2 The  Eclogues  of  the  Poet  B.  Mantuan,  translated  by  George 
Turbervile,  1567. 

3 Lee,  op.  cit.,  p.  13.  Vide  also  Love' s Labour' s Lost,  IV,  2,  IOO. 

4 Alexander  Barclay,  prologue  to  the  Eclogues,  1 570. 


348  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

countries.  Barnabe  Googe,  for  instance,  showed  the 
influence  of  Sannazaro  through  the  medium  of  the 
Spaniard  Garcilaso  de  la  Vega.1  At  other  times  France 
was  to  be  the  intermediary  between  Italy  and  Eng- 
land. With  Spenser,  however,  the  influence  was  direct 
and  the  October  xa.  his  Shepheard' s Calendar  was  openly 
imitated  from  Mantuanus.2  From  E.  K.’s  introduc- 
tory epistle  it  is  apparent  that  Mantuanus, (<  Petrarch, 
Boccaccio  and  Sannazaro  were  regarded  in  the  direct 
line  of  tradition  from  Theocritus  and  Vergil.  Spenser, 
whom  Drayton  called  the  “ great  reformer,” 3 was  in  fact 
introducing  in  England  the  pastoral  which  had  first 
been  revived  in  Italy. 

The  subsequent  development  of  the  English  pasto- 
ral was  largely  influenced  by  the  Aminta  of  Tasso 
and  Guarini’s  Pastor  Fido.  The  first  was  trans- 
lated into  Latin  hexameters  by  Thomas  Watson  in 
1587.  An  unauthorized  English  rendering  was  made 
from  this  by  Abraham  Fraunce,  which  proved  far  more 
popular  than  the  Latin  version  of  Watson.  The  Pastor 
Fido  was  not  translated  till  some  years  later;4  it  was 
first  printed  in  London,  in  the  original  Italian,  as  was 
also  the  Aminta.  The  influence  of  Tasso  and  Guarini 
can  further  be  traced,  not  only  in  the  pastorals  proper 
of  Thomas  Lodge  and  Giles  Fletcher,  but  in  the  drama 

1 Underhill,  op.  cit.,  p.  242. 

2 For  Mantuanus’  influence  on  Spenser,  vide  Anglia  III,  266, 
and  IX,  205,  articles  by  F.  Kluge. 

3 The  Barons'  Wars,  preface. 

4 The  Pastor  Fido,  translated  by  Sir  Edward  Dymock,  1602. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  349 


as  well ; in  Lyly’s,  Greene’s  and  Peek’s  pastoral  plays, 
as  also  much  later,  in  the  Faithful  Shepherdess  and  the 
Sad  Shepherd. 

Several  of  Sidney’s  songs  in  the  Arcadia  were  in- 
tended to  be  sung  to  the  time  of  Neapolitan  “ Villa- 
nells.”  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt’s  most  successful  ventures 
had  been  his  songs,  often  imitated  from  the  Italian. 
The  musical  accompaniment  to  which  such  songs  were 
sung  came  in  many  instances  from  across  the  Alps. 
Madrigals  also  which  were  especially  popular  in  England 
had  most  of  them  originated  in  Italy.1  The  first  col- 
lection of  Italian  madrigals  printed  in  England  was 
by  Nicholas  Yonge.2  It  was  followed  by  Thomas  Wat- 
son’s collection  after  Marenzio,  Nannio  and  Converso.3 
Morley  and  Dowland  continued  the  work,4  while  Yonge 
later  brought  out  a second  series.5 6  John  Dowland,  who 
when  in  Italy  had  made  friends  with  Giovanni  Croce, 
Luca  Marenzio  and  the  other  great  composers,  was  the 

1 Vide  T.  Oliphant,  Madrigals , 1836. 

2 Musica  Transalpina  . . . with  the  first  and  second  part  of 
‘ La  Verginella  ’ made  by  Master  Byrd  upon  the  two  stanzas  of 
Ariosto,  and  brought  to  speak  English  with  the  rest,  N.  Yonge, 

1588. 

8 The  First  Set  of  Italian  Madrigals  Englished  ...  by 
T.  Watson,  1590. 

i Alto  di  Thomaso  Morlei.  II  primo  libro  della  Ballatte  a 
cinque  voci,  in  Londra  appresso  Tomaso  Este,  1595  (dedicated 
to  Sir  Robert  Cecil;  both  the  dedication  and  the  letterpress 
were  in  Italian).  The  First  Book  of  Songs  or  Airs,  by  John 
Dowland,  1596. 

6 N.  Yonge,  Musica  Transalpina,  translated  out  of  sundry 
Italian  authors,  1597. 


350  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


most  celebrated,  perhaps,  of  the  English  musicians  of 
the  day.  These  English  musicians  formed  the  last  link 
in  the  chain  of  those  who  brought  back  new  lessons  from 
across  the  Alps.  They  also  found  a new  art  to  learn  in 
Italy,  where  some  of  them  became  thoroughly  Italian- 
ated.  John  Cooper,  for  instance,  called  himself  Gio- 
vanni Coperario  after  having  been  in  Italy.  He 
was  among  the  first  to  bring  back  a knowledge  of  the 
new  homophonic  school  which  had  arisen  there,  and 
which  was  later  to  be  developed  in  England  by  his  two 
pupils,  William  and  Henry  Lawes.  At  a time  when 
the  musical  drama  originated,  Cooper  forms,  with  La- 
niere  and  Ferrabosco,  the  binding  tie  between  Italy  and 
England.  Ferrabosco  himself  was  the  son  of  an  Ital- 
ian musician,  and  had  studied  music  at  Bologna,  where 
he  attached  himself  to  the  new  school  then  growing 
up. 

In  examining  the  different  English  books  of  madri- 
gals of  this  time,  one  cannot  but  be  impressed  by  their 
almost  exclusively  Italian  origin.  Nicholas  Yonge 
wrote  that  he  had  “ carefully  culled  out  of  the  com- 
positions of  the  best  authors  in  Italy,”  alluding  to  the 
musical  books  yearly  sent  him  thence.  Morley,  Dow- 
land,  Byrd  and  Watson  alike  frankly  acknowledged 
the  sources  of  their  collections,  and  mentioned  the 
Italian  composers  whose  songs  they  reproduced.  In 
Italy,  during  this  time,  music,  the  last  product  of  the 
Renaissance,  was  at  its  height,  and  Dowland  spoke  of 
its  flourishing  in  all  the  cities  he  visited.  In  England, 
too,  Italian  musicians  such  as  the  Bassani,  the  Lupos 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  35 1 


and  the  elder  Ferrabosco  were  to  be  found  at  court, 
while  they  were  also  in  the  service  of  great  noble- 
men.1 In  music,  as  in  the  sciences  and  arts,  Italy  led 
the  way  for  the  rest  of  Europe  to  follow. 

V 

The  Italian  influence  on  English  satire  began  al- 
ready with  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt,  who  imitated  Alamanni 
both  in  the  form  of  epistolary  satire  and  in  his  use  of 
the  terza  rim  a?  Wyatt  was  the  first  English  poet  to 
imitate  the  original  model  of  classic  satire  revived  in 
Italy,  and  adapt  the  ancient  style  to  the  conditions 
of  his  own  time  and  place.  English  satire,  however, 
in  the  sixteenth  century  was  to  follow  a course  simi- 
lar to  that  taken  by  lyric  poetry,  especially  the  sonnet. 
The  classical  model  introduced  by  Wyatt  was  not  to 
flourish  in  England  until  toward  the  end  of  the 
century,  when  Hall  and  Marston  took  it  up.  In  the 
meantime,  satires  continued  to  be  written  in  accord- 
ance with  earlier  models  ; Edward  Hake,  for  instance, 
belonged  almost  to  the  mediaeval  satirists  and  followed 
no  classical  examples,  while  Gascoigne’s  Steel  Glass 
betrayed  few  evidences  of  the  new  style. 

The  influence  of  Italy  on  English  satire  was  two- 
fold. On  the  one  hand  was  felt  the  revival  of  the 
classical  traditions  in  Alamanni  and  Ariosto ; on  the 
other,  was  the  prose  satire,  of  which  Aretino’s  writings 
offered  the  great  example.  Aretino  himself  was  one 

1 Cot.  Mss.  Brit.  Mus.,  Titus  B.  VII,  155. 

2 Cf.  Wyatt,  Satire  II  with  Alamanni,  Satire  XII. 


352  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


of  the  Italians  whose  name  was  in  every  Englishman’s 
mouth,  where  it  became  a byword  for  sensuality.  He 
had  even  dedicated  a volume  of  letters  to  Henry  the 
Eighth,1  who  finally  granted  him  a pension  after  years 
of  delay.1  William  Thomas  in  turn  dedicated  his 
Pilgrim  to  Aretino  whom  he  called  a “right  natural 
poet  . . . whose  virtue  consisteth  in  nature  without  any 
art.”2  His  influence  was  chiefly  noticeable,  however, 
in  the  closing  years  of  the  sixteenth  century,  with  the 
Bohemian  group  of  pamphleteers,  which  included 
Robert  Greene,  and  especially  Thomas  Nash,  known 
as  the  “ English  Aretine.”  The  latter  described  his 
master  as  “ one  of  the  wittiest  knaves  that  ever  God 
made,”  one  whose  pen  was  sharp  like  a poniard,  and 
who  wrote  never  a line  that  failed  to  make  a man 
drunk  with  admiration.3  Nash  relied,  like  Aretino,  on 
a free  use  of  the  vernacular  to  obtain  his  humor- 
ous effects,  and  would  coin  words  from  the  Italian 
where  the  English  was  not  to  his  taste.  He  copied 
him  especially  in  his  too  frequent  abuse  and  vitupera- 
tion. Gabriel  Harvey  censured  him  for  this  licentious- 
ness,4 though  trying  himself  to  imitate  the  wit  of  him 
whom  he  called  Unico  Aretino. 

The  classical  satire,  first  revived  in  Italy  with  Vinci- 
guerra,  did  not  really  begin  to  flourish  in  England  until 
the  last  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Like  so  many 

1 Vide  Letters,  II  passim,  IV,  53. 

2 The  Pilgrim,  dedication. 

3 Jack  Wilton,  p.  107  et  seq. 

4 New  Letter  of  Notable  Contents,  Works,  I,  272  el  seq.,  289. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  353 


other  foreign  literary  forms,  it  failed  to  attain  its  popu- 
larity at  first.  The  sonnet,  the  pastoral  and  the  Sene- 
can  tragedy  were  all  to  enjoy  their  fashion  before  its 
turn  came ; between  Wyatt  and  Donne  there  extended 
an  interval  of  half  a century.  Satire  in  Tudor  England 
never  became,  in  fact,  thoroughly  acclimated.  The 
Elizabethan  satirists  followed,  as  a rule,  the  Latin  tra- 
ditions belonging  rather  to  the  school  of  Juvenal  and 
Persius,  even  though  the  Horatian  influence  was  very 
perceptible  in  Hall.  The  English  satires,  however, 
contained  numerous  Italian  words  and  expressions. 
Guilpin,  Marston,  Lodge  and  the  rest  referred  fre- 
quently to  the  “filthy  Aretine,”  and  alluded  to  the 
vices  and  crimes  of  Italy.  Hall  even  prefaced  his 
satire  with  an  Italian  motto1,  and  on  more  than  one 
occasion  borrowed  from  Ariosto.2 

Beginning  with  Wyatt  and  Surrey,  the  English  often 
found  models  for  their  religious  verse  in  Italian  poetry ; 
Wyatt’s  penitential  psalms,  for  instance,  were,  like  his 
satires,  adapted  from  Alamanni.  The  fashion  for  this 
kind  of  poetry  came  also  very  much  later.  George 
Chapman,  for  instance,  translated  Petrarch’s  hymns. 
On  the  other  hand,  Laurence  Bodley,  an  Oxford  fel- 
low, translated  into  Italian  a number  of  the  psalms.3 
This  religious  influence  in  poetry  became  far  more 
important,  however,  in  the  days  of  the  Stuarts  when 
Crashaw  echoed  Marini. 

1 Book  IV,  i. 

2 Alden,  Rise  of  Satire  in  England,  p.  1 13.  Vide  also  Hall, 

Satires,  I,  iv.  8 Ms.  Bodleian  Library. 


354  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

The  Italian  influence  was,  likewise,  responsible  in 
part  for  the  narrative  poems  of  the  later  Elizabethan 
Age.  Hero  and  Leander , Venus  and  Adonis , Pygmalion 
and  the  Hermaphrodite  were  all  conceived  in  the  florid 
and  sensuous  Italian  manner.  At  times  this  meant 
merely  that  the  Elizabethans  read  the  classical  stories 
on  which  these  tales  were  founded  in  the  Italian, 
which  was  far  more  widely  known  than  the  ancient 
tongues.  In  Italian  there  existed  usually  both  literal 
and  poetic  translations.  Bernardo  Tasso,  for  instance, 
paraphrased  freely  the  Hero  and  Leander  of  Musseus, 
after  Baldi  had  translated  it  literally.  Tasso’s  render- 
ing was  certainly  made  use  of  by  the  Spaniard,  Boscan,1 
and  was  perhaps  not  unknown  to  Marlowe  himself, 
whose  word  painting  was  thoroughly  Italian.  Musseus, 
for  instance,  described  in  two  lines  Leander’s  first 
swimming  of  the  Hellespont ; Tasso  and  Boscan  both 
required  over  twenty  to  do  so,  while  Marlowe  elabo- 
rated it  to  even  greater  length.  Certain  of  the  lines 
not  in  the  original  Greek  bear  likewise  a decided 
resemblance  to  each  other. 

Le  figlie  di  Nereo  per  P onde  salse 
Scherzando  coi  Tritoni, 

of  Tasso,  is  not  unlike  the 

Sweet  singuig  mermaids  sported  with  their  loves. 

Piero  and  Leander,  II,  162. 

True  classical  scholarship  was  a rare  acquisition 
among  the  earlier  Elizabethans,  while  the  Italian 

1 Vide  Flamini,  Studi  di  Storia  italiana  e straniera,  Livorno, 
1895. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  355 


offered  a means  of  approach  easy  to  all.  The  literary 
influence  of  Italy  had  further  means  of  filtering  into 
England  through  the  hundreds  of  translations  from  the 
Italian.1  Plagiarism  was  not  considered  a vice  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and,  commencing  with  Wyatt,  there 
began  a long  list  of  debts  acknowledged  and  un- 
acknowledged to  Italian  literature.  Works  of  every 
kind  were  translated,  especially  in  the  last  quarter  of 
the  century.  The  charge  once  made  by  Sir  Thomas 
Hoby  that  Englishmen  were  selfish  in  their  studies  and 
unmindful  of  the  intellectual  wants  of  their  country- 
men, in  contrast  to  the  Italians  who  translated  books 
in  foreign  languages  for  the  benefit  of  their  less  fortu- 
nate compatriots,  was  no  longer  true  ; translators  were 
highly  regarded,  and  a perfect  mania  for  translating  set 
in.  There  were  few  books  of  importance  which  did  not 
speedily  appear  in  English.  Some  complained  of  these 
renderings,  urging  against  them  all  kinds  of  objec- 
tions. George  Pettie  satirized  those  who,  through 
ignorance,  were  unable  to  see  the  faults  in  the  original 
which  they  discerned  in  the  translation,  and  thought 
nothing  was  good  unless  written  in  a foreign  language.2 
The  translators  as  well  were  to  have  their  apologists 
and  defenders.  Hoby  declared  that  a man  skilled  in 
English  translations  was  no  less  learned  than  he  who 
had  read  the  same  in  the  original  Latin  and  Greek.3 

1 Vide  Bibliography  of  Elizabethan  Translations  frotn  the 
Italian,  M.  A.  Scott,  Proc.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.,  1895-98. 

2 Guazzo’s  Civil  Conversations,  preface. 

3 “ Epistle  to  the  Reader,”  Courtier,  p.  9. 


356  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

Another  writer  quoted  Giordano  Bruno’s  saying  that  all 
sciences  owed  their  offspring  to  translations,1  in  order 
to  persuade  Daniel  not  to  be  ashamed  “ to  open 
another  man’s  shop  ” and  “ sell  Italian  wares  ” as 
though  being  “ a bankrupt  in  philosophy  ” he  “ could 
not  afford  any  pretty  conceit  without  borrowing  or  em- 
bezzling.” Lodowick  Bryskett,  the  friend  of  Sidney 
and  Spenser,  in  the  introduction  to  his  translation  of 
Giraldi  Cinthio’s  Discourse  of  Civil  Life,  wrote  that 
he  envied  the  Italians  who  had  popularized  moral 
philosophy  by  explaining  Plato  and  Aristotle  in  their 
own  language,  wishing  that  English  writers  would  fol- 
low their  example.  Bryskett  urged  Spenser  to  set 
himself  to  such  a task,  but  he  was  already  occupied 
with  the  Faerie  Qtteene. 

The  Italian  epic  poets  were  well  known  in  England. 
Florio  had  already  quoted  from  Ariosto.2  To  Sir  John 
Harington,  however,  a court  wit  and  humorist,  was 
left  the  task  of  translating  the  Orlando  into  English 
verse,  one  of  the  few  translations  which  has  remained 
famous  to  this  day.  Drayton,  in  his  Barons'  Wars, 
was  later  to  take  the  verse  form  from  Ariosto  on  ac- 
count of  its  being  “of  all  other  the  most  complete  and 
and  best  proportioned.”  A portion  of  Boiardo  was 
then  translated  into  English.3  Tasso  also  was  popular 
in  England  from  the  very  beginning,  and  Abraham 

1 The  Worthy  Tract  of  Paulus  Jovius,  by  Samuel  Daniel,  1585. 

2 First  Fruites,  ch.  25,  1578. 

3 Orlando  Innamorato  ; the  first  three  books  were  translated 
by  Robert  Tofte  in  1598. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  357 


Fraunce  quoted  freely  from  him  as  early  as  15  79.1 
The  first  five  cantos  of  the  Jerusalem  Delivered  were 
translated  by  Richard  Carevv,  who  attempted  to  follow 
the  original  line  for  line.  There  are  many  passages  of 
great  beauty  in  this  rendering,2  although  it  is  by  no 
means  accurate.  The  more  famous  version  by  Edward 
Fairfax  appeared  a few  years  later.3  His  poem  has 
almost  the  ring  of  the  original,  and  far  surpassed 
Carew’s  translation,  of  which  he  made  considerable 
use. 

VI 

The  classical  influence  in  English  literature  came 
largely  from  Italy.  Classical  metres,  which  Tolomei 
had  long  before  attempted  to  revive  in  Italy,  were 
tried  by  Sidney  and  Spenser,  and  found  apologists  in 
Drant  and  Gabriel  Harvey.  Roger  Ascham  was,  how- 
ever, the  first  to  advocate  the  use  of  quantity  in  Eng- 
lish poetry.  From  Gabriel  Harvey’s  letters4  one 
can  realize  the  extent  of  this  movement,  as  well  as  the 
attempt  which  was  made  then  to  introduce  such  metres 
into  English  verse.5 6  Sidney,  Spenser,  Dyer  and  Gre- 
ville  formed  a society  bearing  the  name  of  the  Areopa- 
gus, perhaps  in  imitation  of  the  Florentine  Academy 

1 Arcadian  Rhetorike.  Vide  Koeppel,  Anglia , XI,  XII,  XIII. 

2 Godfrey  of  Bulloigne,  translated  by  R.  C.,  1594. 

3 Godfrey  of  Bulloigne , translated  by  Edward  Fairfax,  1600. 

4 Three  proper  and  wiltie  familiar  letters ; Two  other  very 

commendable  letters,  in  Haslewood,  Arte  of  English  Poesy. 

6 Spingarn,  Literary  Criticism  in  the  Renaissance,  p.  299 
et  seq. 


358  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


in  the  time  of  Lorenzo,  which  bore  the  same  name,1 
although  probably  based  on  the  one  which  Ba'if 
had  founded  in  Paris  shortly  before.  The  original 
model  for  all  such  learned  societies  was  Italian,  but  the 
idea  of  academies  had  long  been  present  to  the  Eng- 
lish mind.  William  Thomas,  so  far  back  as  1549,  de- 
scribed the  Academy  in  Florence  as  among  the  most 
interesting  things  he  saw  in  all  Italy.  Later,  Edmund 
Bolton  advocated  an  English  Academy,  and  Richard 
Carew  deplored  the  lack 2 of  such  an  institution  in  his 
own  country.  The  idea  of  an  Academy  in  England 
was  even  present  in  the  mind  of  Milton.3 

The  dominant  influence  in  Elizabethan  criticism 
was  Italian,  and  the  introduction  of  the  poetic  canons 
of  Aristotle  into  England  resulted  from  the  influence 
of  Italian  critics.  Sir  Philip  Sidney  introduced  Italian 
criticism  just  as  Wyatt  and  Surrey  had  introduced  the 
Italian  lyric.  His  Defense  of  Poesy  has  been  called  an 
“ epitome  of  the  literary  criticism  of  the  Italian  Re- 
naissance,” and  its  sources  have  been  laid  bare  in  the 
treatises  of  Minturno  and  Scaliger ; 4 Dolce,  Trissino 
and  Daniello  were  all  placed  by  Sidney  under  contri- 
bution. Puttenham,  likewise,  as  he  was  careful  to 
inform  the  reader,  had  lived  at  the  Italian  courts ; 
his  conception  of  the  poet  was  based  directly  on  that 

1 Cf.  Pulci,  Morgante  Maggiore,  XXV,  1 1 7. 

2 Richard  Carew  in  a letter  to  Cotton  (1605),  cited  by  Ellis, 
Original  Letters  of  Eminent  Literary  Men,  Camden  Society, 
P-  99- 

3 Prose  Works,  edited  by  St.  John,  1848,  II,  pp.  477,  480. 

* Spingarn,  op.  cit.,  p.  268  et  seq. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  359 


of  Scaliger.1  The  Italianated  Harington,  in  his  de- 
fence of  the  Orlando  Furioso  against  the  attacks  made 
on  it,  gave  for  the  first  time  in  English  the  Aristotelian 
theory  of  the  epic  as  revived  in  Italy.2  Italian  poetic 
criticism  was  also  to  have  its  influence  in  Elizabethan 
literature.  The  dramatic  unities  of  time  and  place, 
formulated  for  the  first  time  by  Lodovico  Castelvetro 
in  1570,  were  copied  by  Sidney  in  his  Defense ,3  and 
utilized  later  in  the  classical  plays  of  Daniel  and 
Fulke  Greville.  The  Senecan  tragedy  also  in  part 
through  the  Italian  medium4  influenced  English  at- 
tempts at  classical  tragedy ; Gascoigne’s  translation 
of  Jocasta,  for  instance,  was  made,  not  from  the 
original  Greek  of  Euripides,  but  from  Dolce’s  Italian 
rendering. 

A set-back  was,  however,  experienced  in  the  attempt 
to  classicize  English  poetry ; Hall  satirized  the  move- 
ment,5 6 and  it  received  its  death-blow  in  Daniel’s 
Defense  of  Rhyme?  It  was  a part  of  a similar  reaction 
felt  no  less  in  other  directions.  With  the  growth  of 
the  Renaissance  in  Europe,  Italian  words  and  ex- 
pressions had  been  introduced  into  other  languages 

1 Spingarn,  op.  cit.,  p.  264. 

2 Ibid.,  p.  293.  Jacopo  Castelvetro,  who  had  lectured  on 
poetics  in  Paris  (where  he  may  have  met  Sidney),  published  in 
London,  in  1585,  Julius  Caesar  Stella’s  Epic  on  Columbus,  and 
dedicated  it  to  Raleigh  in  appreciation  of  his  exploits. 

3 Ibid.,  p.  290. 

* Vide  Cunliffe,  The  Influence  of  Seneca  on  the  Elizabethan 

Drama,  London,  1893. 

6 Satires,  I,  6. 


Spingarn,  p.  298. 


360  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

and  this  movement  was  now  opposed  in  its  turn  ; thus, 
in  France,  Henri  Estienne  ridiculed  such  imitation 
in  his  celebrated  Dialogues  du  Fran$oys  Italianize. 

The  feeling  was  undoubtedly  growing  that  every 
nation  should  take  pride  in  developing  its  lan- 
guage, without  borrowing  from  classical  or  Italian 
sources.  This  movement,  which  was  intended  as  a 
reaction  against  Italy,  was  really  the  counterpart  of 
a similar  one  begun  by  Bembo1  and  the  Purists.  In 
England,  however,  the  problem  was  somewhat  different. 
Not  only- was  the  English  language  burdened  by  “ink- 
horn  ” terms  as  they  were  then  known,  but  the  dif- 
ferent continental  languages,  especially  the  Italian, 
contributed  to  form  its  vocabulary.  This  tendency 
had  begun  already  with  Wyatt,  who  borrowed  words 
here  and  there.2  Thomas  Wilson  had  complained 
of  those  who,  returning  from  foreign  travel,  “ powder 
their  talk  with  oversea  language ; . . . some  seek 
so  far  for  outlandish  English,  that  they  forget  alto- 
gether their  mother’s  language ; . . . another  chops 
in  with  English  Italianated  and  applieth  the  Italian 
phrase  to  our  English  speaking.” 3 E.  K.  likewise,  in 
his  defence  of  the  Shepheard' s Calendar,  spoke  of  the 
English  language  as  a “ hodge-podge  of  all  other 
speeches,”  and  alluded  to  those  who  desired  to  patch 

1 Harvey  was  familiar  with  the  works  of  Bembo.  The  first 
lectures  he  gave  at  Cambridge  were  based  on  his  ideas.  Vide 
Morley,  English  Writers,  1892,  IX,  17  et  seq. 

2 Cf.  Sonnet  XV,  “Arising  the  bright  beams,”  from  the 
Italian  avvisare. 

8 Art  of  Rhetoric,  f.  82  b. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  FOETRY  36 1 


up  its  holes  “with  pieces  and  rags  of  other  languages.” 
There  were  Englishmen  who  proclaimed  their  tongue 
to  be  “ barren  ” and  “ barbarous.” 1 On  the  other 
hand,  John  Kepers  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  making 
new  words,  and  thought  this  could  best  be  effected 
by  those  “ conversant  in  foreign  writers.”  2 Greene’s 
language  was  interlarded  with  Italian  words  and  ex- 
pressions. Nash,  however,  was  the  great  example 
of  this  tendency.  He  wrote  of  those  who  objected 
to  “ the  multitude  of  my  boisterous  compound  words, 
and  the  often  coining  of  Italianate  verbs,  which  end 
all  in  ize,  as  mummianize,  tympanize,  tyrannize.” 
He  had  made  use  of  such  words  because,  more  than 
any  other  language,  English  swarmed  with  monosyl- 
lables, which  he  likened  to  small  currency  in  a shop- 
keeper’s box.  His  task  had  been  to  exchange  these 
small  coins  “ four  into  one  and  others  into  more,  ac- 
cording to  the  Greek,  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian.” 3 
Harvey,  however,  accused  Nash  of  quite  renouncing  his 
natural  English  accent  in  his  affectation  of  Tuscanism. 
Others  likewise  wrote  against  the  foreign  danger  in 
the  language.  Sir  John  Cheke  argued  for  English  to 
be  written  “ clean  and  pure,”  and  without  borrowing 
from  other  tongues.4  Mulcaster  and  Ascham  both  ad- 
vocated its  use  without  foreign  expressions.  Even  Gas- 
coigne, who  had  taken  much  from  the  Italian,  prided 
himself  on  retaining  old  English  words  rather  “ than  in 

1 Guazzo,  preface. 

2 The  Courtier's  Academy , introduction. 

3 Nash,  IV,  6 et  seq.  4 Castiglione,  op.  cit.,  p.  12. 


362  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


borrowing  of  other  languages,  such  epithets  and  ad- 
jectives as  smell  of  the  inkhorn.”1 

VII 

The  Italian  influence  in  English  fiction  in  the  six- 
teenth century  was  on  the  one  hand  that  of  Boccaccio, 
on  the  other  that  of  Sannazaro.  The  first  was  to  show  it- 
self especially  in  the  tales  of  love,  intrigue  and  adventure 
of  Robert  Greene,  who  had  himself  travelled  in  Italy. 
The  scenes  of  many  of  his  novels  were  laid  there,  while 
his  stories  were  drawn  largely  from  Italian  sources ; 
Perimides  and  Philomela,  for  instance,  was  so  closely 
imitated  from  Boccaccio  that  it  amounted  almost  to 
a translation.2  Greene  proved  himself  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  literature  and  ideas  of  the  Peninsula. 
He  described  the  Italianate  Englishmen  returning 
home  with  vices  acquired  abroad ; he  himself  con- 
fessed to  have  done  this.3  Although  the  origin  of 
the  style  he  made  use  of  still  remains  a disputed 
point,  the  names  of  his  love  tales,  Mamillia , Arbasto, 
Alcida  and  Pandosto  give  a clew  to  the  Italian  sources 
of  his  inspiration. 

Greene,  as  a novelist,  found  his  successors  in  Nicho- 
las Breton  and  Emanuel  Ford,  who  was  also  an  imitator 
of  Boccaccio.  If  Boccaccio  offered  the  model  for  all 
stories  of  intrigue,  the  pastoral  novel  of  Sannazaro, 
which  revived  in  Renaissance  Italy  the  Arcadian  tales 

1 Works,  preface. 

2 M.  A.  Scott,  Proc.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc.,  1898,  p.  250. 

3 R.  Greene,  VI,  24;  X,  6,  73;  XI,  217,  etc. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  363 

of  late  Greek  literature,  was  to  prove  no  less  popular  in 
England.  Sannazaro’s  romance  of  the  ideal  love  of  shep- 
herds and  shepherdesses  amid  the  scenes  of  an  imagi- 
nary poetic  landscape  possessed  little  human  interest 
and  but  slight  action.  These  elements  were  later  sup- 
plied by  his  Portuguese  imitator,  Jorge  de  Monte- 
mayor,  who  added  to  the  conventional  Arcadianism  in- 
cidents from  real  life.  Sidney,  in  his  Arcadia,  united 
the  two  models,  combining  certain  elements  of  ro- 
mantic adventure  which  he  added  to  the  pastoral  sim- 
plicity. The  lyrics  he  introduced  likewise  imitated  the 
example  of  Sannazaro,  who  interspersed  poetry  with 
prose.  Sidney’s  descriptions  called  up  other  Italian 
reminiscences ; the  one  of  the  beautiful  Philoclea,  for 
instance,  may  well  have  been  suggested  by  the  paint- 
ings of  Titian  and  Veronese  he  had  seen  in  Venice.1 

Robert  Greene’s  Menaplion  and  Pandosto,  both  of 
which  were  Arcadian  in  style,  breathed  the  spirit  of  the 
Italian  pastoral  novel ; Thomas  Lodge,  also,  who  had 
imitated  the  Italian  lyric  poets  in  his  Margaret  of 
America,  copied  Sannazaro  in  Rosalind,  from  which, 
later,  Shakespeare  drew  the  plot  of  his  own  semi- 
pastoral drama. 

Before  the  vogue  of  the  pastoral  novel  had  set  in, 
however,  numerous  translations  of  Italian  novelle  and 
romances  had  been  made.  The  tale  of  Titus  and 
Gisippus,  translated  by  Sir  Thomas  Elyot,  was  prob- 
ably the  earliest  English  rendering  of  Boccaccio  in 

1 Jusserand,  English  Novel  in  the  Time  of  Shakespeare, 

p.  244. 


364  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


the  sixteenth  century.  It  only  began  the  long  list 
of  such  translations.  Painter’s  Palace  of  Pleasure 
appearing  in  1566,  Fenton’s  Tragical  Discourses  a 
year  later,  and  the  collections  which  followed  by  For- 
tescue,1  Pettie,2  Smythe,3  Turbervile,4  and  others,  fa- 
miliarized Englishmen  with  an  entirely  different  class 
of  literature.  They  could  now  read  the  tales  of  Ser 
Giovanni,  Straparola,  Bandello  and  the  followers  of 
Boccaccio.5  Some  stories  were  directly  translated 
from  the  Italian,  others  from  their  French  versions  as 
in  the  case  of  Bandello.  So  great  was  the  popularity 
of  these  tales  that  an  English  novel  of  the  time  in 
order  to  secure  a larger  sale,  was  falsely  stated  to  be 
a translation  from  the  Italian,  foreign  words  being 
even  introduced  to  mislead  the  reader.6  George  Gas- 
coigne, likewise,  in  his  English  imitation  of  a novella , 
the  adventures  of  Don  Ferdinando  Geronimi , pre- 
tended to  be  translating  a story  by  “ Bartello.” 

Ladies  were  said  to  “ entertain  Bandel  or  Ariosto  in 
their  closets,”7  and  Ascham  spoke  of  such  books 
being  “ sold  in  every  shop  in  London.”  Their  popu- 

1 T.  Fortescue,  Forest  or  Collection  of  Histories,  1571. 

2 George  Pettie,  Pettie' s Palace  of  Pettie  his  Pleasure,  1576. 

3 Robert  Smythe,  Strange  and  Tragical  Histories,  1577. 

4 Tragical  Tales  translated  by  Turbervile,  1587. 

6 Vide  L.  Fraenkel,  Zeitschrift  fur  Vergleichende  Litteratur, 
III,  IV. 

6 The  pitiful  History  of  two  loving  Italians,  Gaulfrido  and 
Bernardo.  . . . Translated  out  of  Italian  into  English  metre  by 
John  Drout,  1570. 

7 Paulus  Jovius,  preface  by  N.  W.  to  Daniel’s  translation. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  365 

larity  and  licentiousness  resulted  in  the  inevitable  re- 
action. Stephen  Gosson  wrote  of  the  devil  sending 
over  “ many  wanton  Italian  books  which,  being  trans- 
lated into  English,  have  poisoned  the  old  manners  of 
our  country  with  foreign  delights.” 1 Ascham’s  objec- 
tions are  too  well  known  to  need  further  repetition. 
In  1599  many  of  these  books  were  ordered  to  be 
burned,  and,  to  use  Warton’s  own  words,  the  Stationer’s 
Hall  “ underwent  as  great  purgation  as  was  carried  on 
in  Don  Quixote’s  library.” 

The  translations  of  the  Italian  novelle  were  to 
awaken  further  interest  in  Italy  among  the  people  at 
large.  Italy  gave  the  subject-matter  and  incidents  to 
such  a tale  of  adventure  as  Jack  Wilton,  although  its 
literary  form  was  Spanish.  Italy  offered,  so  to  speak, 
the  stage  setting  and  scenery  for  the  Elizabethan 
dramatists.  Its  richer  life,  with  its  promise  of  adven- 
ture and  bloodshed,  gave  free  rein  to  their  thoughts. 
The  crimes  of  Italy  were  destined  to  furnish  the  sub- 
ject-matter for  nearly  half  the  tragedies  written  in 
the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  James.2  The  dramatists, 
in  addition,  could  borrow  plots  ready  made  from 
Italian  novelle  at  a time  when  plagiarism  was  thought 
legitimate.  The  Italian  drama  in  itself  had  but  little 
direct  influence  in  England.  A morality  play  called 
Free  Wyl  had  been  translated  both  by  Hoby  and 
Cheke,  and  Ochino’s  Tragedy  was  likewise  rendered 
into  English  by  Bishop  Ponet.  Still  another  famous 

1 Plays  confuted  in  Five  Actions. 

2 Vernon  Lee,  Euphorion,  p.  70. 


366  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


morality,  the  Conflict  of  Conscience,  had  for  its  hero 
one  Francis  Spira,  an  Italian  lawyer,  who,  for  purely 
worldly  reasons,  abandoned  his  Protestant  convictions. 
The  popularity  of  such  plays  in  England  was  due 
rather  to  their  religious  lessons  than  to  intrinsic  lit- 
erary merit.  The  Italian  influence  on  the  English 
drama  came  chiefly  through  the  translation  of  novelle, 
although  the  dumb  show  and  the  play  within  the  play 
were  both  of  Italian  origin.  Italian  examples,  how- 
ever, aided  greatly  the  transition  from  morality  to 
comedy  in  England.1  George  Gascoigne’s  Supposes, 
a translation  of  Ariosto’s  Suppositi,  which  appeared 
in  1566,  was  the  first  English  prose  comedy,  and  with 
it  began  the  refinement  of  dialogue. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  an  Italian  company, 
under  a certain  Drusiano,  acted  in  London  in  15  7 7, 2 
their  improvised  dialogue  being  commented  on  by 
Hieronimo  in  Kyd’s  Spanish  Tragedy : — 

The  Italian  tragedians  were  so  sharp  of  wit, 

That  in  one  hour’s  meditation 

They  would  perform  anything  in  action. 

Italian  words  and  expressions  were  by  no  means 
unusual  on  the  Elizabethan  stage.  Gascoigne  intro- 
duced them  in  a masque.3  Even  Shakespeare  made 
occasional  use  of  them,  while  Marston  and  Ford  both 
brought  in  Italian  sentences.4 

1 Ward,  English  Dramatic  Literature,  I,  145. 

2 J.  P.  Collier,  History  of  English  Dramatic  Poetry , III,  398. 

3 Gascoigne,  edit.  W.  C.  Hazlitt,  I,  86  et  seq. 

4 Vide  I Antonio  and  Mellida,  II,  i,  212,  III,  i,  275.  ’ Tis 

Pity  She's  a Whore,  IV,  iii,  passim. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  367 


In  addition  to  what  they  were  able  to  learn  from 
the  novelle,  Elizabethan  dramatists  obtained  further 
insight  into  Italian  manners  and  customs  from  the 
many  manuals  of  courtesy  which  were  translated  into 
English.  They  found  depicted  in  them  a society  far 
more  cultivated  and  refined  than  anything  which 
existed  in  England  in  that  age.  Such  books  taught 
them  the  existence  of  a new  world  and  a new  life. 
At  the  same  time,  the  dialogue  form,  so  popular 
among  Italians,  and  in  which  these  books  were  written, 
gave  English  dramatists  the  models  for  their  prose 
conversations. 

Tancred  and  Gismunda,  produced  in  1568,  was  the 
first  English  drama,  the  plot  of  which  is  known  to  have 
been  based  on  an  Italian  tale.  Not  long  afterward 
every  Elizabethan  playwright  was  borrowing  from  the 
novelle.  In  parallel  movement  the  more  learned  poets, 
such  as  Sackville  and  Gascoigne,  from  reading  Seneca 
and  his  Italian  imitators,  began  themselves  to  write 
English  plays.1  The  Italian  influence  in  the  English 
drama  was  thus  twofold.  On  the  one  side  it  con- 
tributed to  bring  to  life  the  ancient  forms  of  tragedy, 
and  teach  the  canons  of  Aristotle  as  interpreted  in 
Italy.  This  conscious  classical  influence,  first  brought 
in  through  translations,  imposed  the  unities  on  the 
later  Elizabethan  drama.  Nevertheless,  it  was  with 
few  exceptions  destined  to  barrenness,  for  Fulke 
Greville’s  plays  are  hardly  more  than  literary  curios- 
ities. On  the  other  hand,  the  Italian  romantic  side 


1 Ward,  I,  xi  7,  144. 


368  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


influenced  the  spirit  of  the  Elizabethan  drama,  by  in- 
fusing it  with  its  own  ideals  of  virtu.  The  unconscious 
influence  of  Italy  proved  a living  breath  to  English 
playwrights,  who  found  their  subject-matter  in  its  tales 
of  passions  and  crimes. 

Many  signs  of  Italian  influence  are  apparent  in 
the  dramas  of  the  period.  Gosson  alluded  to  the 
“ bawdy  comedies  ” in  Italian  furnishing  the  playhouses 
in  London.1  One  play  by  the  name  of  the  Orlando 
Furioso  was  presented  on  the  stage,  another  called 
Machiavelli  was  acted  at  the  Rose  Theatre.  It  must 
be  acknowledged,  however,  that  many  of  the  so-called 
Machiavellian  sayings  of  the  dramatists  were  so  only 
in  the  popular  Elizabethan  sense  of  the  name,  and 
appear  to  have  been  inspired  rather  by  Gentillet’s 
polemic.2  Nevertheless,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted 
that  Machiavelli’s  doctrine  of  virtu  fitted  in  with  the 
ideas  of  the  age.  It  animated  Marlowe’s  heroes,  who 
first  brought  his  spirit  into  the  English  drama.  All 
of  them  are  governed  by  the  craving  for  the  infinite, 
either  in  wealth,  knowledge,  or  power,  attainable  through 
force  of  will,  regardless  of  the  means  employed.  In 
Tamburlaine  he  represented  energy  and  strength,  in 
contrast  to  the  weakness  of  Mycetes.  So  Faustus,  to 
obtain  forbidden  knowledge,  was  ready  to  sacrifice  his 
soul.  Barabas  likewise  typified  hatred  and  revenge, 
while  Mortimer  represented  personal  ambition  car- 
ried to  extreme.  All  his  plays  were  thus  inspired  by 

1 Plays  confuted  in  fine  actions. 

2 Meyer,  op.  cit.,  p.  43  et  seq. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  369 


the  same  desire  — to  bring  to  a dramatic  climax  the 
consequences  produced  by  the  determination  of  will 
power  in  its  pursuit  of  selfish  objects.1  Machiavelli 
himself  was  brought  on  the  stage  as  the  impersona- 
tion of  all  villany.2 

Shakespeare’s  knowledge  of  Italy,  like  his  own  life, 
remains  a paradox.  On  the  one  hand,  the  remarkable 
amount  of  information  he  possessed  about  Italian 
cities  does  not  seem  as  if  it  could  have  been  acquired 
except  from  personal  observation.  On  the  other,  cer- 
tain of  the  errors  he  made  were  of  such  a nature  as 
almost  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  his  having  been 
there.  Thus,  for  instance,  Valentine  is  supposed  to 
travel  by  sea  from  Verona  to  Milan,  while  Prospero 
embarks  on  board  a ship  at  the  gates  of  Milan.3 

His  plays  treating  of  Italian  subjects  were  of  three 
kinds.  In  such  as  Othello  and  the  Merchant  of  Venice 
he  showed  undeniable  knowledge  of  Italy.  In  a sec- 
ond class,  comprising  Romeo  and  Juliet  and  the  Tam- 
ing of  the  Shrew,  a certain  knowledge  of  Italy  is  seen, 
though  not  more  than  could  be  gathered  from  hearsay 
and  books.  Last  of  all  were  such  dramas  as  The 
Tempest  and  the  Winter’s  Tale,  where  the  locality  and 
names  were  alone  Italian.4  Thus  only  the  first  kind 
remains  not  easily  explicable ; even  granting  that  he 
obtained  information  from  the  tales  of  travellers,  and 

1 Courthope,  II,  405.  2 Jew  of  Malta,  prologue. 

3 Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  I,  I,  71;  The  Tempest,  I,  II, 

1 29-144. 

4 Vide  Elze,  Shak.  Jahrbuch,  XIII,  XIV,  XV. 


370  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

from  such  books  as  Thomas’s  History  of  Italy,  there 
seems  no  sufficient  reason  for  his  preferring  Venice 
and  Padua.  Neither  Florence  nor  Rome  attracted 
him  in  the  same  way.  His  interest  in  the  North  can 
be  accounted  for  in  part  by  his  fondness  for  Bandello 
and  certain  of  the  novellieri ; but  this  does  not  tell 
all.  Nor  for  that  matter  does  his  ridicule 1 of  English- 
men returning  home  from  foreign  travel  dissatisfied 
with  their  surroundings,  prove,  as  some  have  thought, 
that  he  had  not  been  abroad.  ' He  himself  in  after 
years  made  fun  of  the  sonnet  he  had  once  been  so 
fond  of. 

If  Shakespeare  was  ever  in  Italy,  it  was  not  as  an 
ordinary  traveller.  His  exact  knowledge  was  confined 
almost  to  Venice  and  Padua ; other  places  he  knew 
of  only  by  hearsay.  Nor  does  he  mention  the  long 
journey  across  the  Alps.  He  went  there,  if  at  all,  on 
board  ship,  perhaps  as  a sailor  or  as  an  accountant  or 
clerk  in  the  employ  of  some  commercial  house  in 
London,  for  direct  trade  between  the  two  places  was 
then  of  common  occurrence.  It  is  barely  possible 
that  his  name  may  still  be  found  among  the  papers  of 
some  London  merchant ; his  visit  in  such  a capacity 
would  alone  account  for  his  partial  knowledge  of  Italy, 
coupled  with  its  gigantic  blunders.  It  would  explain 
both  his  fondness  for  Venetia  as  well  as  much  of  the 
mystery  surrounding  his  early  life. 

In  spite  of  the  uncertainty  and  lack  of  direct  proof 
which  attends  Shakespeare’s  travels,  more  certain  ground 


1 Vide  p.  164. 


ITALIAN  INFLUENCE  IN  ENGLISH  POETRY  37 1 


is  reached  in  approaching  the  books  he  read.  The 
sources  of  fourteen  of  his  dramas  are  found  in  Italian  fic- 
tion. Not  only  was  he  familiar  with  the  Italian  novelle, 
even  such  as  the  story  of  The  Merchant  of  Venice,  which 
was  then  inaccessible  in  English,  but,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, he  had  read  many  of  the  books  relating  to  Italian 
subjects  then  published  in  England.  Touchstone’s  de- 
scription of  the  various  forms  of  a lie  and  Orlando’s 
wrestling  bout  with  Charles  was  probably  suggested  by 
Saviolo’s  Practise.  Likewise  the  lines 

Venetia,  Venetia, 

Chi  non  ti  vede,  non  ti  pretia , 1 

if  not  taken  from  Florio’s  Second  Fruites,  which  he 
might  well  have  seen  in  manuscript,  could  be  found  in 
James  Sanford’s  collection  of  Italian  proverbs.  Shake- 
speare, however,  undoubtedly  knew  Florio  when  he 
was  a prot£g6  of  Southampton.2 

In  spite  of  the  books  he  read  and  his  acquaintance 
with  Italy  and  Italians,  perhaps  even  his  knowledge  of 
Bruno’s  philosophy3  and  his  allusions  to  Machiavellian 
ideas,4  Shakespeare’s  individual  genius  was  far  too 
great  to  be  deeply  touched  by  outward  influences. 
His  spirit,  like  Spenser’s,  remained  English,  unaffected 
by  foreign  imitation.  At  the  same  time  the  Italian 

1 Love's  Labour's  Lost,  IV,  II,  100. 

2 S.  Lee,  op.  cit.,  p.  85. 

3 Vide  R.  Konig,  Shak.  Jahrbuch,  XI ; R.  Beyersdorff,  Shah. 
Jahrbuck,  XXVI. 

4 LLL  Henry  VL,  III,  II,  182;  Titus  Andronicus,  V,  I,  125; 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  III,  1,  102,  etc. 


372  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


atmosphere  with  which  he  invested  his  dramas  aided 
to  bring  out  their  beauty,  while  the  novelle  on  which 
he  based  his  plots  set  free  his  imagination. 

The  Italian  influence  in  English  literature  was  thus 
twofold.  On  the  one  hand,  it  taught  the  value  and 
beauty  of  artistic  form  in  poetry,  and  introduced  new 
poetic  models ; on  the  other,  it  gave,  so  to  speak,  the 
raw  material  from  which  the  Elizabethan  dramatists 
drew  the  subject-matter  of  their  inspiration.  At  the 
same  time  it  offered  a model  for  the  novel  and  the 
epic,  and  the  critical  criteria  for  the  judgment  of 
literature.  The  first  two  influences  were  romantic ; 
the  influence  of  the  Italian  humanists,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  classical.  While  this  influence  was  para- 
mount in  criticism,  it  yet  failed  to  attain  any  results 
in  poetry  and  the  drama,  the  desultory  attempts  made 
to  introduce  it  in  England  proving  sterile.  The 
romantic  influences,  however,  did  not  fetter  the  origi- 
nality of  English  poetry;  the  models  of  Petrarch  and 
Ariosto  breathed  new  life  into  it,  while  the  tales  of 
Boccaccio  and  his  followers  stirred  the  imagination 
of  Elizabethan  dramatists. 


APPENDIX  A 


ENGLISH  CATHOLICS  IN  ROME 

Perhaps  the  most  permanent  and  binding  chain, 
which  from  the  earliest  times  familiarized  Italy  with 
England,  was  the  constant  stream  of  pilgrims  journey- 
ing to  and  from  Rome.  These  pilgrimages  had  already 
begun  long  before  the  Conquest  and  had  continued 
through  the  Middle  Ages.  In  the  fourteenth  century 
one  John  Shepherd,  a London  merchant,  established 
a hospital  in  Rome  for  English  pilgrims  and  travel- 
lers. So  early  as  727,  King  Ina  had  founded  a hos- 
pice for  Saxon  pilgrims  beyond  the  Tiber.  The  English 
records  of  these  early  days  are  either  lacking  or  scanty. 
Some  information  can  be  obtained,  however,  from 
a partial  register  of  the  pilgrims  written  in  the  first 
years  of  the  sixteenth  century.1  The  guests  then 
received  were  of  two  kinds,  — noblemen  ( nobiles ) 
so  called,  who  paid  for  their  board,  and  poor  people 
( pauperes ) who  were  lodged  free.  The  names  and 
occupations  of  the  guests  were  in  each  case  given ; 
thus  John  Vaughan,  priest,  John  Williams,  knight, 
Thomas  Halsey,  student  at  Bologna,  shows  the  general 
nature  of  the  lodgers.  Most  of  them  were  designated 
either  as  scholars  or  priests ; but  others  lodged  there 
as  well,  even  the  ambassadors  sent  by  Henry  the  Seventh 

1 Liber  Primus  Instrumentornm , English  College,  Rome. 

373 


374  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


to  the  Vatican,  Edward  Scot  and  John  Alen,  the  first 
of  whom  died  of  fever  in  the  hospital.  In  one  year, 
1505,  fifty-five  persons  were  registered  as  “nobles.” 
Among  the  poor  were  the  names  of  an  occasional 
Oxford  student,  of  sailors,  and  again  of  a dozen  Welsh- 
men, together  with  a pilgrimage  of  priests  from  Nor- 
folk and  Suffolk.  In  all  over  two  hundred  pilgrims 
went  there  in  a single  year.  Women,  also,  were  among 
the  pilgrims,  such  names  occurring  as  Juliana  Lutt  of 
London,  and  Elizabeth  Welles,  a widow,  of  Norwich. 
This  constant  intercourse  with  Rome  which  had  always 
existed  must  have  spread  a knowledge  of  Italy  among 
Englishmen ; the  first  English  accounts  of  travel  in 
Italy  were  certainly  written  by  just  such  pilgrims. 

Although  it  would  be  outside  the  province  of  this 
study  to  sketch  even  hastily  the  development  of  the 
English  Reformation,  at  the  same  time  certain  of  its 
effects  must  be  alluded  to  among  the  connecting  links 
between  England  and  Italy.  With  the  growth  of  Prot- 
estantism pious  English  Catholics  began  more  and 
more  to  take  refuge  in  the  latter  country.  While  this 
was  not  so  much  the  case  in  the  first  half  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  when  strong  hopes  were  entertained 
that  there  might  be  a return  to  Rome,  after  these  had 
vanished  with  the  death  of  Mary,  the  movement  be- 
came an  important  one,  and  numbers  of  Englishmen 
found  new  homes  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  and  else- 
where in  Italy.  At  the  same  time  the  beginnings  of 
the  movement  may  be  found  in  the  period  now  treated. 
It  will  only  be  necessary  to  mention  very  briefly  cer- 


ENGLISH  CATHOLICS  IN  ROME 


375 


tain  of  the  English  Catholics  of  this  time  who  resided 
in  Italy,  chiefly  on  account  of  their  religious  convic- 
tions. They  form,  as  it  were,  the  nucleus  around 
which  the  Italian  influences  surrounding  them  could 
take  action.  Without  ever  ceasing  to  be  Englishmen, 
many  of  them  yet  show  to  a marked  degree  the  effect 
of  their  environment.  John  Clerke  was  an  example 
of  this ; after  graduating  at  Oxford,  he  travelled  in 
Italy  and  lived  there  for  many  years,  writing  books  on 
theology,  several  of  which  were  in  Italian ; he  openly 
professed  his  preference  for  its  literature  to  the  Greek 
and  Roman.  George  Lily,  the  son  of  the  grammarian, 
was  another  one  who  lived  in  Rome,  where  he  became 
noted  for  his  erudition,  and  was  protected  by  Cardinal 
Pole.  Still  a third  was  Ellis  Heywood,  brother  of  the 
poet,  who,  after  graduating  at  All  Souls,  travelled  in 
Italy,  where  he  was  received  in  the  household  of 
Reginald  Pole,  and  was  appointed  by  him  one  of  his 
secretaries  ; later  in  life  he  became  a Jesuit.  He  also 
wrote  in  very  good  Italian  two  dialogues1  purporting  to 
be  Sir  Thomas  More’s  conversations  with  certain  learned 
men  of  his  time  on  virtue  and  love,  the  great  Renais- 
sance topics  of  discussion.  The  locality  selected  was 
the  garden  of  More’s  country-house  near  London,  in 
accordance  with  the  Italian  fashion  of  laying  the 
scenes  of  conversation  in  the  open  air.  Apart  from 
this,  however,  there  was  little  truly  English  about  the 
book  which  might  as  well  have  been  written  by  some 
Italian. 

1 II  Moro  d'  Heliseo  Hevodo  Inglese , Florence,  1556. 


376  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 

Both  Lily  and  Heywood  centre  around  the  greater 
commanding  figure  of  Cardinal  Reginald  Pole.  It  was 
he  who,  during  the  period  when  England  was  drifting 
away  from  Rome,  stood  for  the  highest  type  of  Eng- 
lish Catholic  churchman,  and,  more  than  any  one  else, 
maintained  in  Italy  the  dignity  of  England.  In  him- 
self he  formed  one  of  the  great  links  between  the  two 
countries.  A connection  of  the  royal  family/he  had 
first  studied  at  Oxford  under  Linacre  and  Latimer,  and 
had  graduated  at  Magdalen.  In  1521  he  was  sent  by 
the  king  to  Padua,  then  known  as  He lladis  Hellas , to 
continue  his  studies ; while  there  he  made  friends  with 
some  of  the  great  scholars  of  the  time,  Leonicus  and 
Longolius,  through  whom  he  became  acquainted  with 
Bembo.  He  met  there,  as  well,  Thomas  Lupset,  who 
had  gone  to  study  in  Italy  by  the  advice  of  Vives,  the 
Spanish  humanist,  and  two  men  who  were  to  be  his  life- 
long friends,  Ludovico  Priuli,  a young  Venetian  noble- 
man, and  Caspar  Contarini,  who  later  became  cardinal. 
At  Padua,  Pole  entertained  considerably,  and  on  ac- 
count of  his  royal  kinship  much  attention  was  paid 
him  by  the  authorities.  His  interest  in  learning  he 
maintained  through  life  ; the  scholar  Longolius,  who 
died  in  his  house,  left  him  his  library.  When  Pole  re- 
turned to  Padua  ten  years  later,  he  took  into  his  house- 
hold Lazzaro  Buonamici,  a well-known  classical  scholar, 
to  study  once  more  Greek  and  Latin.  But  Pole, 
in  spite  of  his  interest  in  humanism  and  learning, 
unlike  his  Italian  friends,  cared  nothing  for  literary 
fame.  His  one  aim  and  object  in  life,  to  which  he 


ENGLISH  CATHOLICS  IN  ROME 


377 


devoted  himself  with  unswerving  purpose,  was  to  re- 
store in  England  the  supremacy  of  Rome  ; and  though 
he  failed  in  this,  he  yet  stands  out  in  bold  relief  as 
one  of  the  commanding  figures  of  the  age,  and  as 
the  highest  type  of  learned  churchman.  He  gave 
a personal  example  (for  the  alleged  scandals  of  his 
private  life  have  been  proved  untrue)  that  it  was 
possible  to  live  in  Italy  and  be  unaffected  by  its 
vices.  He  himself  had  refused  from  Henry  the 
Eighth  the  highest  inducements  to  approve  of  his 
divorce ; he  had  been  steadfast  through  thick  and  thin 
to  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  and  though  he  saw 
gleams  of  triumph  when  Mary  came  to  the  throne,  his 
own  death  fortunately  prevented  him  from  realizing 
that  his  life’s  work  had  been  in  vain.  As  one  of  the 
great  links  between  Italy  and  England,  his  influence, 
however,  was  considerable.  To  each  country  he  held 
up  the  mirror  of  the  other’s  virtues.  And  while 
Englishmen  saw  in  his  presence  the  authority  and 
grandeur  of  Rome,  to  Italians  he  reflected  the  piety 
and  austerity  of  England. 

There  is  little  use  in  going  through  the  catalogue  of 
churchmen  who  contributed  to  familiarizing  the  one 
land  with  the  other.  Italians,  just  as  before,  came  to 
England ; Giberti,  Bishop  of  Verona,  who  posed  as 
the  special  protector  of  England  ; Ghinucci,  Bishop  of 
Worcester  and  of  Salisbury ; and  Cardinal  Campeggio, 
who  had  first  been  sent  to  England  to  urge  Henry 
the  Eighth  to  unite  with  the  other  princes  of  Chris- 
tendom in  a campaign  against  the  Turk,  and  returned 


378  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


as  judge  to  listen  to  the  divorce  suit  of  Henry  against 
Catherine  of  Aragon.  In  Italy,  on  the  other  hand, 
lived  such  men  as  Sir  Edward  Came,  sent  to  Rome  as 
excusator  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  who  had  been  cited 
to  appear  there  in  person.  Carne  remained  there 
until  his  death,  the  Pope  ostensibly  keeping  him  as 
hostage  and  refusing  to  allow  him  to  depart,  although 
he  gave  him  the  government  of  the  English  hospital 
at  Rome.  The  detention,  it  is  now  known,  was  en- 
tirely voluntary  on  his  part,  and  the  Pope’s  seeming 
refusal  was  merely  that  Carne’s  property  in  England 
should  not  be  confiscated. 

It  will  be  seen,  from  the  few  facts  mentioned,  how 
great  were  the  possibilities  of  an  interchange  of  ideas 
between  the  two  countries.  Interchange,  however,  is 
a misnomer.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  ideas  and 
culture  of  England  had  the  slightest  influence  in 
Italy.  The  Italians  were  only  shocked  at  the  au- 
dacity of  the  monarch  who  dared  break  loose  from 
that  most  national  of  institutions,  the  Papacy.  How 
deep  was  their  interest  in  England  was  apparent 
when  the  news  arrived  of  Mary’s  accession  to  the 
throne,  and  it  was  supposed  that  England  would 
again  become  Catholic.  There  were  rejoicings  all 
over  Italy,  and  in  Florence  alone  a solemn  mass 
was  held,  followed  by  a procession  and  display 
of  fireworks,  to  celebrate  England’s  return  to  papal 
obedience.1 

1 Settimanni,  Diario  Fiorentino,  II,  Pt.  I,  737,  Archives 
Florence. 


ENGLISH  CATHOLICS  IN  ROME 


379 


In  England,  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  the 
Papacy  was  looked  upo»  by  Protestants  as  the  arch 
enemy.  It  was  true  that  every  influence,  every  ac- 
tion, every  attempt,  to  win  back  what  had  been  lost 
to  the  Catholic  Church,  radiated  from  Rome.  It  was 
there  that  English  Catholics  found  a new  home  and 
sanctuary  where  they  could  be  safe  and  secure  from 
insults  and  injury.  Between  Catholics  in  England 
and  English  Catholics  in  Italy  there  was  a constant 
intercourse,  a going  and  coming,  a series  of  move- 
ments and  ties,  all  the  closer  for  being  below  the 
surface;  and  when  gradually  the  hope  for  the  recon- 
version of  England  disappeared,  numbers  of  English- 
men forsook  their  native  land  and  passed  the  remainder 
of  their  lives  in  the  country  of  their  adoption. 

The  most  prominent  among  English  Catholics  of  this 
later  time  was  Cardinal  Allen,  who,  in  1575,  had  been 
summoned  to  Rome  by  Gregory  the  Thirteenth,  to  give 
advice  regarding  a college  for  Englishmen  which  the 
Pope  proposed  to  found.  A few  years  later  the  old 
English  hospital,  with  all  its  revenues,  was  annexed 
to  it.  The  seminary,  as  a result  of  internal  dissen- 
sions and  the  jealousy  between  the  English  and  Welsh 
students,  was  placed,  in  1579,  in  charge  of  the  English 
province  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,1  and  under  the  pro- 
tection of  a cardinal.  It  was  presided  over  by  a 

1 H.  Foley,  Records  of  the  English  Province  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  VI,  541.  Vide  Cardinal  Sega,  Relazione  del  Collegio  In- 
glese,  1596,  Fondo  Ottoboni,  2473  ff .,  185-226,  Vatican  Library, 
Rome  (cited  also  by  Foley  op.  cit.). 


380  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


rector,  not  necessarily  an  Englishman.  A year  later  it 
received  its  first  stable  endowment  and  was  chartered 
by  an  apostolic  brief.1 

On  entering  the  college  an  oath  was  administered 
to  the  student.  He  was  obliged  to  swear  always  to  be 
ready  at  the  order  of  the  Pope  or  other  lawful  supe- 
rior, to  take  Holy  Orders,  and  to  proceed  to  England 
for  the  aid  (/.<?.  conversion)  of  souls.  The  form  of 
interrogation  used  is  an  interesting  one.2  The  novice 
was  questioned,  among  other  things,  regarding  his  rela- 
tives, and  especially  of  their  religious  beliefs  ; of  his  own 
studies,  and  also  of  the  health  of  his  body  and  mind. 
He  was  asked  whether  he  had  been  a heretic  or  schis- 
matic ; how,  and  by  what  means  he  had  become  a 
Catholic ; what  things  had  happened  to  him  on  ac- 
count of  this,  and  if  he  had  suffered  anything ; last  of 
all,  what  were  the  reasons  which  prompted  him  to 
follow  an  ecclesiastical  life. 

Between  1579,  the  year  in  which  the  college  was 
founded,  and  1603,  that  of  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  over 
three  hundred  and  fifty  Englishmen  studied  there  and 
were  admitted  to  the  priesthood.  Each  year  the  col- 
lege sent  out  its  missionaries  to  England  “ for  the  help 
of  perishing  souls.”  Before  leaving,  they  went  to  kiss 
the  feet  of  the  Pope,  who  supplied  them  with  funds 
for  their  journey.  In  the  records  which  have  been 
preserved,  after  each  one’s  name  there  followed  a 

1 Foley,  VI,  70. 

2 Vide  Stevenson,  Roman  Transcripts,  English  College 
Series,  Vol.  9,  Record  Office,  London. 


ENGLISH  CATHOLICS  IN  ROME  38 1 


brief  account  of  his  fate ; sometimes  it  was  only  im- 
prisonment ; but  often  the  f actus  est  martyr  and  the 
accounts  of  those  hanged,  quartered,  and  disembow- 
elled showed  the  perils  and  dangers  which  awaited 
such  missionaries  in  the  task  they  had  taken  on  them- 
selves.1 To  the  stanch  English  Protestant,  however, 
the  college  of  Rome  seemed  a centre  of  popish 
abominations  and  conspiracies,  and  Anthony  Mun- 
day,  in  his  English  Roman  Life,  described  what  he 
called  the  treasonable  practices  and  plans  concocted 
there. 

Any  account  of  the  graduates  of  the  college,  who, 
sent  back  to  England,  did  their  best  to  make  converts 
and  stir  up  disaffection  against  Elizabeth,  would  par- 
take too  much  of  both  political  and  religious  history 
to  have  any  place  in  the  present  study.  The  lives  and 
martyrdoms  of  such  enthusiasts  as  Parsons,  Campion 
and  Southwell  prove  interesting  reading,  however.2 
Robert  Parsons  was  perhaps  the  ablest  of  them  all. 
At  one  time  a fellow  at  Balliol,  he  had  studied  medi- 
cine at  Padua  and  then  became  a Jesuit.  With  Cam- 
pion, he  led  the  first  Jesuit  mission  to  England,  which 
brought  many  back  to  the  old  faith.  When  his  com- 
panion was  executed  after  prolonged  tortures,  he  him- 
self escaped  discovery  and  fled  to  the  Continent  to 
plot  with  Philip  of  Spain  to  attack  England.  His  life 
was  spent  in  one  single  devotion  to  restore  Catholicism 
in  England,  even  at  the  cost  of  foreign  subjugation, 

1 Vide  Cardinal  Sega,  Ms.  cit. 

2 Vide  E.  L.  Taunton,  Jesuits  in  England.  London,  1901. 


382  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


and  he  hoped  finally  to  attain  it  through  the  conversion 
of  James  the  Sixth  of  Scotland,  who  he  recognized 
would  succeed  to  the  English  throne.  “ I would  give 
up  my  very  life  blood,”  he  wrote,1  “ to  see  him 
converted  and  king  of  England.” 

England  through  the  long  reign  of  Elizabeth  be- 
came the  seat  of  many  Catholic  conspiracies  which 
were  hatched  for  the  most  part  in  Italy.  In  tjie  fore- 
most rank  among  the  conspirators  in  England  was 
Ruberto  Ridolfi,  against  whom  nothing  could  ever  be 
proved,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  implicated  in 
nearly  all.  His  career  was  a remarkable  one ; he  had 
been  brought  up  as  a banker,  and,  going  to  London, 
acquired  an  influential  position  in  social  and  mercan- 
tile circles.  In  addition  he  aided  the  different  Catho- 
lic conspiracies,  but  escaped  all  punishment.  The 
role  he  played  can  best  be  seen  from  a letter  to  the 
Pope.2  He  had  been  the  secret  agent  of  Pius  the 
Fifth,  at  a time  when  the  Vatican  was  unable  to  send 
its  nuncios  to  England,  and  had  been  in  touch  with 
all  the  Catholic  noblemen  who  were  anxious  to  serve 
the  Church.  In  order  to  prevent  Elizabeth  from  as- 
sisting the  Protestants  in  France  and  Flanders,  the 
Duke  of  Northumberland  with  other  noblemen  had 
begun  an  insurrection  in  the  border  counties  intended 
to  keep  the  queen  in  check ; but  the  conspiracy  fell 
through  and  its  leaders  were  imprisoned  or  executed. 

1 Letter  written  in  December,  1602  (indexed  wrongly,  as 
being  by  Possevino),  Arch.  Med.,  4185,  Florence. 

2 Arch.  Med.,  4185. 


ENGLISH  CATHOLICS  IN  ROME  383 


Ridolfi,  however,  escaped,  and  begged  the  Pope  to 
reimburse  him  for  his  outlays  and  property,  all  of 
which  had  been  confiscated. 

The  annals  of  this  period  were  full  of  accounts  of 
Catholic  conspiracies.  But  the  intrigues  of  Italian 
churchmen  and  English  Jesuits  came  to  an  untimely 
end  with  the  destruction  of  the  Armada,  and,  though 
their  efforts  did  not  cease,  the  issue  was  never  there- 
after in  doubt. 

In  addition  to  the  students  of  the  English  College 
at  Rome,  many  other  Englishmen  lived  in  Italy  toward 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  a report  made 
to  the  Pope  in  1596  by  Cardinal  Sega,  on  the  condi- 
tion of  the  English  College,  he  ascribed  its  disturb- 
ances to  the  Englishmen  residing  outside  the  college, 
and  recommended  in  consequence  that  all  communi- 
cations between  students  and  outsiders  should  come 
to  an  end.  Italy  was  then  full  of  English  Catholics. 
Anthony  Munday  spoke  of  Cardinal  Borromeo’s  con- 
fessor in  Milan  as  one  Robert  Griffin,  a Welshman,  who 
sent  him  to  the  house  of  an  English  priest  there,  named 
Harris.  Another  English  Catholic  of  prominence  was 
Thomas  Goldwell  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  who  studied  at 
Padua  in  his  youth  and  had  been  a friend  of  Cardinal 
Pole.  Many  of  these  Catholics  proved  themselves 
stanch  Englishmen,  however,  and  Sir  Richard  Shelley, 
known  in  Italy  as  Signor  Conchilio , sent  valuable  in- 
formation from  Venice  about  the  Spanish  Armada. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  more  names ; 
enough  has  already  been  said  here  and  elsewhere  to 


384  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  IN  ENGLAND 


indicate  the  extent  and  permanence  of  one  of  the 
great  chains  which  linked  Italy  to  England. 

Occasionally  the  roles  were  reversed  and  an  ardent 
English  Protestant  would  penetrate  Italy  filled  with 
desire  for  proselytizing.  Such  a one  was  Richard 
Atkins,  fanatic  and  martyr,  who  went  to  Rome  with 
the  intention  of  converting  the  Pope.  After  he  had 
committed  several  excesses  against  the  Roman  Church, 
and  had  insulted  the  host,  he  was  denounced,  tortured, 
and  finally  executed.  Chamberlain  spoke  in  his  let- 
ters 1 of  Englishmen  “ clapt  up  in  the  Inquisition  at 
Rome.”  Oftener  it  was  Italy  that  had  for  its  effect 
the  Catholic  conversion  of  Protestants.  So  it  turned 
out  with  Sir  Tobie  Matthew,  who  was  to  be  known 
as  “ the  most  Italianate  Englishman  of  his  day.” 
His  parents,  who  had  puritanical  leanings,  refused 
their  consent  when  he  first  expressed  a wish  to  see 
the  antiquities  and  sights  of  the  country  of  which  he 
had  heard  so  much  ; but  he  went  in  spite  of  them.  In 
Florence  he  met  some  of  the  English  Catholics  who 
lived  there,  among  others  Sir  George  Petre,  Robert 
Canfield  and  one  Partridge,  a nephew  of  Sir  Henry 
Western.  He  then  moved  on  to  Siena,  that  he  might 
be  “ with  Italians  only  in  order  to  learn  their  language.” 
In  Rome  he  met  Robert  Parsons,  was  received  by 
Cardinal  Pinelli,  and  while  there  became  converted  to 
Catholicism.  In  after  years  he  was  ordained  a priest ; 
he  also  translated  Bacon  into  Italian.  Sir  Tobie  Mat- 
thew is  interesting  as  showing  one  of  the  reasons 

1 Chamberlain’s  Letters,  March  5,  1600. 


ENGLISH  CATHOLICS  IN  ROME  385 


for  the  distrust  with  which  English  Protestants  re- 
garded Italy.  Its  influence  had  made  him  become 
a Catholic,  even  a priest ; his  tastes,  his  habits  all 
became  Italian : he  had  lost  in  their  opinion  his 
English  manhood. 


2 c 


APPENDIX  B 


ENGLISH  ACCOUNTS  OF  ITALY  IN  THE  SIX- 
TEENTH CENTURY1 

1506.  The  Pilgrimage  of  Richard  Guylforde  to  the 
Holy  Land. 

1517.  Sir  Richard  Torkington’s  Diary  of  his  Pilgrim- 
age. 

1547-1549.  The  Travaile  and  Life  of  Sir  Thomas 
Hoby  (Eg.  Ms.,  2148,  Brit.  Mus.). 

1549.  The  History  of  Italy,  by  William  Thomas. 

1563.  Unton’s  Journey  to  Italy,  written  by  Richard 
Smith  (Sloan  Ms.,  1813,  Brit.  Mus.). 

1573.  Sidney’s  letters  to  Hubert  Languet. 

1 5 75 . Jerome  Turler  — The  Traveller  : Description  of 
Naples. 

1582.  Anthony  Munday  — English  Roman  Life. 

1584-1600.  Description  of  Italy — (Harleian  Miscel- 
lany, XII). 

1 5 85 . J[ohn]  F[lorio],  translator  — A Letter  written 
from  Rome,  by  an  Italian  gentleman. 

1588.  Edward  Webbe’s  Travels  — Account  of  Rome. 

1592.  Description  of  Italy — (Lansdowne  Ms.,  Brit. 
Mus.,  775). 

1 Such  incidental  descriptions  as  are  given  by  Nash  in  Jack 

Wiltoti,  etc.,  Greene  and  the  dramatists  have  not  been  included 

in  this  list. 


386 


APPENDIX  B 387 

1593.  Fynes  Moryson  — Account  of  his  Visit  to 
Italy. 

1596.  Robert  Dallington  — Survey  of  Tuscany  (pub- 
lished 1605). 

1599.  G.  Contarini  — Government  of  Venice — trans- 
lated by  L.  Lewkenor. 

1599.  Edwin  Sandys  — Europse  Speculum  (published 

1605^. 

1600.  J.  B.  Marlianus  — Topography  of  Rome. 

1600.  Samuel  Lewkenor  — Description  of  Italian 

Universities. 


APPENDIX  C 


ITALIAN  ACCOUNTS  OF  ENGLAND  IN  THE 
SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  1 ( 

1500  {circa).  A Relation  of  the  Islands  of  England. 
1516.  Travels  of  a Milanese  in  England — (Brit. 
Mus.  Add.  Mss.,  24180). 

15 3:5—15 1:9.  Sebastiano  Giustiniani  — Four  Years  at 
the  Court  of  Henry  the  Eighth. 

1531.  Relazione  di  Lodovico  Falier. 

1551.  Relazione  di  Daniele  Barbaro. 

1552.  Relazione  d’  Inghilterra,  Petruccio  Ubaldini 

(Add.  Ms.,  10169,  Brit.  Mus.). 

1554.  Relazione  del  Giacomo  Soranzo. 

1:554— 1:558.  Relazione  di  Anonimo  del  tempo  della 
Regina  Maria. 

1555.  Ritratti  d’  Inghilterra  di  Giulio  Raviglio. 

(Lib.  Com.  Siena,  K.  X.  29.) 

1557.  Relazione  di  Giovanni  Michele. 

1580  {circa).  Relazione  del  Giovanni  Sovico  Milanees 
(Arch.  Med.  Flor.,  4185). 

1 Only  the  more  important  descriptions  have  here  been  men- 
tioned. Accounts  will  also  be  found  in  looking  through  the 
Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Venetian,  the  Cena  dei  Ceneri  of 
Giordano  Bruno,  Cardan’s  Diary,  the  Description  of  Paulo  Gio- 
vio,  and  Botero’s  Geography,  etc. 

388 


APPENDIX  C 


389 


1573—1:588.  Relazione  di  Inghilterra,  attributed  to 
Nicolo  Millino  (Molino?),  (cited  by  Sneyd, 
as  being  in  the  Earl  of  Leicester’s  Library 
at  Holkham,  Rel.  of  Eng.,  Camden  Soc., 
1847). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY1 


I.  MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES 

Florence.  Archivio  di  Firenze. 

Atti  Publici,  1498.  Miscellaneous  letters  from  Henry  the 
Seventh,  etc. 

Atti  Publici,  1 502.  Miscellaneous  letters. 

Carteggio  Mediceo  Avanti  il  Principato,  filza  94. 

Carteggio  Mediceo  Avanti  il  Principato,  filza  99. 

Carteggio  Universale  Mediceo,  371,372. 

Carteggio  Mediceo,  N.  5. 

Guardaroba  Medicea,  T.  34.  Miscellaneous. 

Guardaroba  Medicea,  293.  Miscellaneous. 

Archivio  Mediceo.  Firenze,  No.  4183. 

Lettere  della  Regina  d’  Inghilterra  e del  Re  dall’  anno 
1524  fino  1621. 

Archivio  Mediceo,  No.  4185. 

Varie  Scritture,  contenuti,  notizie  el  Avvisi  d’  Inghilterra 
dall’  anno  1526  a 1625. 

Archivio  di  -Firenze. 

Minute  del  1545,  filza  N.  6. 

Carte  Strozziane,  1448-1588.  Scritture  che  si  riferiscono 
all’  Inghilterra  del  1488  al  1588. 

Filza  Strozziana,  294. 

Settimanni. 

Diario  Fiorentino.  Archivio  Mediceo,  Firenze. 

1 This  bibliography  is  intended  merely  as  a convenient  enumer- 
ation of  the  principal  manuscripts  and  books  used  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  study.  A far  more  complete  list  of  the  numerous  articles 
on  the  literary  relations  between  England  and  Italy  may  be  found  in 
Betz's  La  Litterature  Comparee.  Further  bibliographies  can  likewise 
be  obtained  from  the  invaluable  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 


391 


392 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Biblioteca  Magliabecchiana. 

Duodo,  Pietro. 

Relazione  d’  Inghilterra  e Scozia.  Scritto  da  un  Segretario 
dell’  Illmo  Sige  Pietro  Duodo,  stato  ambasciatore  per  la 
Signoria  di  Venezia  appresso  al  Re  Giacomo,  1606. 
Magliabecchiana.  Ce.  XXIV,  Cod.  49. 

Biblioteca  Capponi.  Magliabecchiana  Cassetta  ioa  No.  XVII. 

London.  Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  Mss.,  24180. 

Travels  of  a Milanese  Merchant  in  1516. 

Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  Mss.,  4121,  f.  265;  addit.  Mss.,  4122,  ff.  43, 
ill,  139. 

[Cited  by  Harris  Nicolas  in  his  Edition  of  Davison’s  Poet- 
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Brit.  Mus.  Cot.  Mss. 

Nero,  B.  VI,  f.  1 ; Nero,  B.  VII,  passim  ; Titus,  B.  II,  f.  210; 
B.  VII,  f.  155;  Vitellius,  B.  XIV,  ff.  173,  241,  285. 

Brit.  Mus.  Mss.,  4827. 

New  Year’s  gifts  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

Brit.  Mus.  Harl.  Ms.,  284. 

Fragment  of  some  noblemen’s  letters  from  Italy,  1603. 

Brit.  Mus.  Harl.  Ms.,  1878. 

Brit.  Mus.  Mss.,  2481. 

Household  Book  of  Henry  VIII. 

Brit.  Mus.  Egert.  Mss.,  2148. 

Hoby,  Sir  Thomas.  The  Travails  and  Life  of  Sir  Thomas 
Hoby;  ff.  186-202,  A Description  of  the  State  of  Italy. 

Brit.  Mus.  Lansd.  Mss.,  775,  ff.  105-128. 

A Description  of  the  Estate  of  Italy  in  the  year  1592. 

Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  Mss.,  10169. 

Michele,  Giovanni.  Relazione  d’  Inghilterra,  1557. 

[Contained  also  in  Alberi,  Ambasciatori  Veneti.] 

Brit.  Mus.  Addit.  Mss.,  10169. 

Ubaldini,  Petruccio.  Relazione  d’  Inghilterra,  circa  1555. 

Brit.  Mus.  Sloane  Mss.,  1813. 

Unton,  Sir  Edward.  Unton’s  journey  to  Italy,  written  by 
Richard  Smith,  gentleman,  some  time  servant  to  S' 
Edward  Unton  [1563]. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


393 


Public  Record  Office. 

Acontio,  J.  Study  of  History.  (Dom.  Series,  Vol.  XXXIV, 
August,  1564.) 

Foreign  Papers : Italy.  Bundles  1-2. 

Roman  Transcripts  by  J.  Stevenson.  (English  College 
Series,  9 vols.) 

Venetian  Bundle,  No.  1. 

Munich.  Koniglichen  Bibliothek  Mss.,  Latin,  222. 

Letters  of  Pier  Candido  Decembrio  and  Duke  Humphrey 
of  Gloucester. 

Oxford.  Bodleian  Library.  Ms.  587. 

Free,  John.  Letters. 

All  Souls’  Library.  Ms.  CLV. 

Rome.  Vatican  Library. 

Relazione  del  Collegio  Inglese,  1596.  Fondo  Ottoboni, 
2473,  ff.  185-226. 

[Cited  by  H.  Foley  in  Records  of  English  Jesuits.] 

English  College. 

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[Cited  by  H.  Foley  in  Records  of  English  Jesuits.] 

SlENA.  Libreria  Communale  K.  X.  29. 

Raviglio,  Giulio.  Ritratti  d’  Inghilterra,  1555. 

II.  PRINTED  SOURCES 

Acontio,  Jacopo.  The  true  order  and  method  of  writing  and 
reading  Histories  according  to  the  precepts  of  Francisco 
Patrizio  and  Accontio  Tridentino.  ...  By  Thomas  Blun- 
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Una  Essortazione  al  Timor  di  Dio  con  Alcune  rime  Italiane 
novamente  messe  in  luce.  Londra  circa  1580. 

Agnello,  G.  Esposizione  di  Giovanbattista  Agnello  Venetiano 
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Alberi,  E.  Relazioni  dello  Impero  Brittanico  nel  Secolo  XVI 
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Eugenio  Alberi.  Firenze,  1852.  [Containing  the  rela- 
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Falier,  Giacomo  Soranzo,  and  an  anonymous  relation.] 


394 


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Anglerius,  Pietro  Martire.  The  Decades  of  the  New  World 
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The  History  of  Travel  in  the  West  and  East  Indies.  Gath- 
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Aretino,  Pietro.  Epistole.  6 vols.  Paris,  1609. 

Ariosto,  L.  Orlando  Furioso.  In  English  Heroical  Verse  by 
John  Harington.  1591. 

Ascham,  Roger.  The  Scholemaster.  1570.  Edited  by  E. 
Arber.  London,  1897. 

Bale,  John.  Summarium  Scriptorum  Illustrium.  Bale,  1557. 

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- 


, 

. 


• 


■ 


INDEX 


Abell,  J.,  210. 

Accorambono,  307. 
d'  Accorso,  F.,  180. 

Aconlio,  191,  212,  309,  313. 
Adelmare,  P.  M.,  189. 

Adrian  de  Castello,  90,  183  et 
seq.,  319,  346. 

Adrian  the  Fourth,  51. 

.Eneas  Sylvius,  Piccolomini,  4, 
8 et  seq.,  14,  20,  25,  130,  180, 
214.  347- 

Alamanni,  351,  353. 

Alberti,  L.  B.,  83. 

Alberti,  The,  240. 

Alciati,  307. 

Aldus,  32,  34  etseq. 

Alen,  J„  373. 

Alexander,  69  et  seq.,  92. 
Alexander  the  Sixth,  183. 

Allen,  Cardinal,  379. 

Alunno,  106. 

Ambrose,  5. 

Ammonio,  A.,  182,  185,  319,  346. 
d’Anghiera,  P.  M.,  279. 

Antonio  de  Lorenzo,  195. 

Aonio  Paleario,  212. 

Areopagus,  The,  357. 

Aretino,  105,  267,  344,  351  et  seq. 
Argyropoulos,  John,  25. 

Ariosto,  105,  321,  338  340  et  seq., 
35L  353,  356,  364.  366,  372. 
Aristotle,  3 et  seq.,  32,  33,  294, 
325,  356,  367- 
Arthur,  Prince,  36,  182. 

Arundel,  Earl  of,  190,  206  et  seq. 
Arundel,  Thomas,  8,  32. 

Ascham  R.,  98,  108,  121, 138, 162 
et  passim,  214,  345,  337,  361 
364  et  seq. 


Atkins,  R.,  139,  384. 

Augustine,  3. 

Bache,  A.,  236. 

Bacon,  F.,  113,  293,  384. 

Baldi,  P.,  197. 

Bandello,  168,  264  n.,  364,  370. 
Bandinelli,  B.,  197. 

Barbaro,  D.,  223  et  seq. 

Barbaro,  J.,  279. 

Barclay,  A.,  347. 

Bardi,  G.  de,  236. 

Bardi.The,  230,  235,  263  n.,  263. 
Barker,  W.,  139. 

Barnes,  Robert,  102,  336. 
Barnfield,  339. 

Bassani,  The,  350. 

Bassano,  190. 

Beaufort,  Cardinal,  12,  52. 
Beccaria,  Antonio,  4. 

Beckynton,  Thomas,  12  et  seq.,  19. 
Bede,  9,  291. 

Bedford,  Countess  of,  99,  111  et 
seq. 

Bedford,  Duke  of,  8. 

Bedford,  Earl  of,  90,98,  in,  201. 
Bedingfield,  T.,  70,  no,  295  et 
seq.,  308,  313. 

Bellay,  Cardinal  du  47. 

Bellay,  Joachim  du  138. 

Belli,  Valerio,  204. 

Bembo,  A.,  262  n. 

Bembo,  P.,  48,  83  et  seq.,  330, 
360,  376. 

Benci,  G.,  240  et  seq. 

Bernardi,  198. 

Beroaldo,  293. 

Bessarion,  37. 


Bildstone,  Nicholas,  12,  52. 

41 1 


412 


INDEX 


/ 


Bisset,  Peter,  48. 

Bizari,  P.,  98,  in,  213. 

Blount,  E.,  309  rt. 

Blundevile,  T.,  70,  309  n. 
Boccaccio,  4,  11,  33  n.,  87,  105, 
108,  161,  317,  348,  362  et  seq., 
372. 

Bodley,  L.,  353. 

Boeria,  B.  de,  37,  45, 188. 
Boiardo,  356. 

Bolton,  E.,  146,  358. 

Bonamicus,  L.,  146. 

Bonner,  Edward,  54. 

Bonvisi,  A.,  43,  264  et  seq.,  267, 
276. 

Borde,  Andrew,  79. 

Borgarucci,  G.,  189,  212. 
Borromeo,  Cardinal,  383. 
Boscan,  319,  354. 

Botero,  215,  281  et  seq. 
Bowkenham,  Osbern,  15. 

Braun,  199. 

Breton,  N.,  362. 

Bruno,  G.,  101,  104  et  seq.,  192, 
215.  345  et-  se9-<  356,  371. 
Bruno,  Leonardo, 5,  7, 15,  20  n. 
Bryan,  Sir  Francis,  90,  186,  328. 
Bryskett,  L.,  75,  83,  356. 

Bubwith,  317  n. 

Buchanan,  G.,  347. 

Buckhurst,  Lord,  275, 

Budaeus,  36. 

Bulkeley,  Master,  15. 

Buonamici,  L„  376. 

Burke,  G„  332. 

Burleigh,  Lord  ( vide  also  Cecil) , 
99,  113,  160,  187. 

Burnet,  291. 

Bury,  Richard  de,  15. 

Butrigarius,  G.,  280. 

Byrd,  N.,  350. 

Cabots,  The,  278,  280,  282. 
Caesar,  92. 

Caesar,  Sir  J.,  189. 

Caius,  49  et  seq. 

Caius  Auberinus,  55. 


Calco,  J.,  212. 

Calepino,  294. 

Caliardi,  190. 

Camden,  200. 

Camoens,  316. 

Campeggio,  Cardinal,  187,  377. 
Campion,  78,  381. 

Canfield,  R.,  384. 

Canigiani,  G.,  247,  256. 

Capello,  F.,  262. 

Capgrave,  4. 

Capistrano,  Marquis  of,  119,  150. 
Caraccioli,  95. 

Carbo,  Ludovico,  18,  23. 

Cardan,  J.,  188,  215. 

Carew,  R.,  357  et  seq. 
Carmeliano,  P.,  59,  181  et  seq., 
196,  346. 

Carmellian,  A.,  196. 

Carmyan,  Ellis,  77. 

Came,  Sir  E.,  378. 

Caro,  105. 

Casale,  Sir  Gregory  de,  90,  186. 
Casale,  John  da,  90, 186. 
Cassiodorus,  137. 

Castagniolo,  A.,  246. 

Castelvetro,  J.,  105,  191. 
Castelvetro,  L.,  359. 

Castiglione,  61,  63,  68  et  seq.,  74, 
76,  81,  83  et  seq.,  87  et  passim, 
128,  187,  319. 

Castiglione,  Battista,  98,  191. 
Cataneo,  96. 

Catherine  de’  Medici,  171. 
Catherine  of  Aragon,  378. 
Cavalcanti  G.,  263. 

Cavalcanti,  The,  270,  272. 
Cavallari,  196. 

Caxton,  26,  288. 

Cecil  ( vide  also  Burleigh),  90, 
213,  273  et  seq. 

Cecil,  R.,  99,  160. 

Cellini,  Benvenuto,  192,  195. 
Chalcondylas,  29. 

Chamber,  J.,  37,  188. 
Chamberlain,  384. 

Chandler,  Thomas,  12  et  seq. 


INDEX 


413 


Chapman,  G.,  353. 

Charles  the  First,  198, 314. 
Charles  the  Fifth,  293. 

Charles  the  Eighth,  196. 

“ Charowchon,”  265. 

Chaucer,  240,  317. 

Cheke,  H.,  365. 

Cheke,  Sir  J.,  48,  188,  345,  361. 
Chichely,  Henry,  52. 

Chicheley,  Reynold,  15. 
Chrysoloras,  Manuel,  5,  7. 
Churchyard,  330,  336. 

Ciabo,  A.,  188. 

Cicero,  9,  25,  139. 

Cinthio,  Giraldi,  75,  83,  356. 
Cittolini,  A.,  212. 

Clarke,  W.,  340. 

Claudius,  137. 

Clement,  Vincent,  12  et  seq. 
Clerk,  J.,  191,  375. 

Colet,  36,  42  et  seq.,  188,  208,  214, 
345- 

Columbus,  278,  280,  282. 
Conestaggio,  309  n. 

Conflict  of  Conscience,  365. 
Constable,  H.,  149,  205,  336,  339. 
Constance,  Council  of,  23,  52, 
217. 

Contarini,  G.,  129,  302,  306,  376. 
Contarini,  P.,  262. 

Converso,  349. 

Cooke,  Anne,  112  et  seq.,  209  et 
seq. 

Cooper,  Bishop,  106,  350. 

Corbo,  T.,  263. 

Corsi,  A.,  263. 

Corsi,  The,  265. 

Cosimo,  Duke,  269  et  seq. 
Courtenay,  E.,  212. 

Courtenay,  P.,  53. 

Courtenay.  W„  233. 

Cranmer,  49,  208,  210  et  seq., 
213. 

Crashaw,  353. 

Crichton,  112. 

Croce,  G.,  349. 

Croke,  Richard,  49,  55. 


Cromwell,  Thomas,  47,  90,  113, 
186  et  seq.,  197,  264,  266  et  seq., 
269,  276,  291  et  seq.,  314. 

Dallington,  Sir  R.,  70  et  seq.,  121, 
125, 131, 135,  141  et  passim,  339. 
Dandolo,  G.,  238,  262  n. 

Danett,  T.,  309  n. 

Daniel,  S.,  339  et  seq.,  356,  359. 
Daniello,  358. 

Dante,  n,  180,  317  n.,  320  et  seq. 
Danvers,  Lord,  207. 

Davies,  Sir  J.,  340. 

Davison,  F.,  126  et  seq.,  131  et  seq. 
Decembrio,  Pier  Candido,  5,  7. 
Della  Casa,  61,  81  et  seq.,  87, 
107. 

Demosthenes,  161. 

Derby,  Lord,  235. 

Desainliens,  vide  Hollyband. 
Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  34,  45. 
Dolce,  339  n.,  358  et  seq. 
Donatello,  193. 

Doni,  105. 

Donne,  353. 

Dowland,  J.,  122,  349  et  seq. 
Dragout,  Rais,  134. 

Drant,  357. 

Drayton,  M„  97,  328,  339,  348, 
356. 

Drummond,  W.,  175. 

Drusiano,  366. 

Duns  Scotus,  43. 

Durham,  Bishop  of,  102. 

Dyer,  357 . 

E.  K„  360. 

Eden,  R.,  280. 

Edmund,  231. 

Edward  the  First,  180,  233  et  seq. 
Edward  the  Second,  236  et  seq. 
Edward  the  Third,  235,  238  et 
seq.,  258,  263  n. 

Edward  the  Fourth,  288  et  seq., 
314- 

Edward  the  Sixth,  48  et  seq.,  69, 
95,  188,  210,  215,  269. 


INDEX 


414 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  67,  96,  98,  112, 
115,  164,  169,  189,  192,  204,  220 
et  seq.,  272  et  seq.,  302  et  seq., 
3r9.  365.  379  et  seq. 

Elizabeth  of  York,  181. 

Elyot,  Sir  T.,  64,  105,  108,  293, 

363. 

Erasmus,  33  et  seq.,  36  et  seq., 
44  et  seq.,  49,  54  et  seq.,  157, 
182  et  seq.,  316. 

Essex,  Earl  of,  71,  73,  99,  1x1. 
Estensi,  The,  181,  289. 

Estienne,  H.,  169,  360. 

Estiennes,  The,  106. 

Eugene  the  Fourth,  5. 

Evelyn,  J.,  200. 

Fairfax,  E.,  357. 

Falier,  219  et  seq. 

Federici,  C.,  281. 

Fenton,  G.,  168,  309,  364. 
Fernando  de  Vittoria,  37. 
Ferrabosco,  78,  350  et  seq. 
Ferrice,  G.  A.,  98. 

Ficino,  33  n„  45,  82,  345. 

Field,  T.,  276. 

Filelfo,  33  n. 

Firenzuola,  333. 

Fisher,  Bishop,  39,  49,  55. 

Flavio  Biondo  of  Forli,  12. 
Flemming,  Richard,  23. 
Flemming,  Robert,  17  et  seq.,  23 
et  seq.,  27,  30,  52,  318. 

Fletcher,  G.,  336,  339,  348. 

Florio,  J.,  70  et  seq.,  98  et  seq., 
102  et  seq..  Ill,  156,  189,  356, 
371- 

Florio,  M.  A.,  100,  213. 

Fluto,  N.,  134. 

Ford,  E.,  362. 

Ford,  J.,  366. 

Fortescue,  293. 

Fortescue,  T.,  364. 

Fortini,  B.,  272. 

Foxe,  Richard,  54  et  seq.  91- 
Fracas  toro,  346. 

Francesco  d' Arezzo,  25. 


Francis  the  First,  92, 192. 
Fraunce,  A.,  348,  357. 

Free,  John,  17  et  seq.,  20  et  seq., 
28,  33.  35.  49.  150.  239,  261,  318. 
Frescobaldi,  L.,  264. 

Frescobaldi,  The,  235  et  seq. 
Frontinus,  137. 

Fulwood,  W.,  82. 

Galen,  32,  37. 

Garcilaso  de  la  Vega,  348. 
Gardiner,  Stephen,  54. 

Gascoigne,  G.,  no,  160,330  et  seq., 

351-  359.  36i>  364.  366  et  se1- 
Gattola,  Angelo,  12. 

Gelli,  J.  B„  345  n. 

Gentile,  Alberico,  303  et  seq. 
Gentillet,  I.,  169,  305  et  seq. 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  290. 
George  the  Third,  198. 

Ghinucci,  56,  90,  186,  377. 
Ghirlandajo,  196. 

Giberti,  377. 

Gigli,  G.,  90,  181,  346. 

Gigli,  S.,  59,  90,  183  et  seq.,  187, 
3I9- 

Gildas,  291. 

Giovanni  Luigi  da  Verona,  195. 
Giovanni,  Ser,  364. 

Giraldi,  270,  272. 

Gloucester,  Duke  of,  290. 

Vide  also  Humphrey,  Duke  of 
Gloucester. 

Golding,  A.,  212. 

Goldwell,  T.,  383. 

Googe,  B.,  331,  346,  348. 

Gosson,  S.,  167,  365,  368. 

Gower,  317. 

Granthan,  H.,  101. 

Grassi,  Giacomo  di,  73. 

Greene,  R.,  167,  306,  349,  352,  361 
et  seq. 

Gregory  the  Eleventh,  233. 
Gregory  the  Thirteenth,  379. 
Greville,  Fulke,  192,  345,  357,359, 

367- 

Gr6vin,  J.,  169. 


INDEX 


415 


Grey  de  Wilton,  Lord,  95. 

Grey,  Lady  Jane,  112. 

Grey,  William,  12, 17,  19  etseq.,  33, 
52.  IS°- 
Griffin,  339. 

Griffin,  R.,  383. 

Grifonio,  70. 

Grimaldi,  A.,  267. 

Grimaldi,  G.,  264. 

Grimald,  N.,  264,  331. 

Grimani,  57. 

Grisone,  70. 

Grocyn,  William,  30  et  seq.,  42, 44, 
46,  49  et  seq.,  207,  321. 
Grosseteste,  Bishop,  179. 

Grotius,  304. 

Gualli,  Cardinal,  179. 

Guarini,  181,  191,  340,  348. 
Guarino,  B.,  19,  24,  105. 

Guarino  Veronese,  7, 18  etseq.,  23. 
Guazzo,  63  et  seq.,  66  et  seq.,  69,  86 
et  seq.,  92  et  seq.,  104  et  seq. 
Guicciardini,  307,  309,  313. 
Guidobaldo,  Duke,  289. 

Guidotti,  Dorothy,  272. 

Guidotti,  Sir  A.,  269  et  seq. 
Guilpin,  108,  333. 

Gunthorpe,  John,  17,  23,  27,  52, 
54- 

Guylforde,  Sir  R.,  115  et  seq.,  135. 

Hadley,  William,  29. 

Hake,  E.,  351. 

Hall,  Bishop,  76, 173,  276,  291,  351 
et  seq.,  359. 

Hallam,  317  n. 

Harington,  Sir  J„  356,  359. 
Harrison,  161,  163,  173. 

Hartwell,  A.,  309  n. 

Harvey,  G.,  80,  165,  167,307,336, 
341.  352,  357.  360  n.  et  seq. 
Hatton,  Sir  C.,  76. 

Haydocke,  R.,  205  et  seq. 

Hawes,  S.,  318,  320. 

Hawkwood,  16. 

Henry  the  Second,  230. 

Henry  the  Third,  231,  233  et  seq. 


Henry  the  Fourth,  3,  262  n. 

Henry  the  Fifth,  290. 

Henry  the  Sixth,  12,  19,  248,  261. 

Henry  the  Seventh,  30,  41,  59,  78, 
18 1 et  seq.,  193  et  seq.,  196  et 
seq.,  205,  258,  261  et  seq.,  278, 
286  et  passim,  314,  373. 

Henry  the  Eighth,  77,95  et  seq., 
119,  182  et  passim,  194  et  seq., 
208,  219  et  seq.,  263,  265,  269 
et  passim,  318,  352,  377  et  seq. 

Henry  of  Navarre,  274. 

Henry,  Prince,  230. 

Hermolaus  Barbarus,  32. 

Heywood,  E.,  375  et  seq. 

Hilliard,  N.,  205  et  seq. 

Hitchcock,  R.,  82,  no. 

Hoby,  Sir  P.,  90,  205. 

Hoby,  Sir  T.,  117  et  seq.,  130, 
134  etseq.,  139,  143  et  passim, 
355.  365- 

Holbein,  77,  316. 

Hollyband,  C.,  101  et  seq.,  170. 

Homer,  124. 

Horace,  162. 

Howell,  J.,  173. 

Humphrey,  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
3,  4 et  seq.,  17  et  seq.,  19,  26,  33, 
180  et  seq. 

Humphrey,  L.,  62  et  seq.,  66,  108. 

Ina,  King,  373. 

Innocent  the  Eighth,  183. 

Institution  of  a Gentleman,  64  et 
seq.,  80,  108. 

James  the  First,  102,  121,  304, 
365.  Vide  also  James  the  Sixth. 

James  the  Fourth,  290  et  seq. 

James  the'  Sixth,  382. 

Jenkinson,  A.,  280. 

Jerome,  5. 

Jerome  of  Treviso,  96,  199. 

John  Bologna,  206. 

John,  King,  230. 

John  of  Padua,  199,  201. 

Johnson,  Dr.,  108. 


4i  6 


INDEX 


Jones,  Inigo,  77  et  seg.,  122,  175, 
203,  206. 

Jonson,  Ben,  78,  108,  175, 

Jovius,  P.,  215. 

Juvenal,  353. 

Katherine,  Queen,  186,  194. 
Kepers,  J.,  84,  361. 

Kyd,  T„  366. 

Langton,  Thomas,  53. 

Languet,  H.,  99,  140,  143,  154, 
159.  169. 

Lapo  da  Castiglionchio,  4. 
Lascaris,  36. 

Latimer,  Thomas,  30,  38  et  seg., 
44.  376. 

Lawes,  H.,  350. 

Lawes,  W.,  350. 

Leicester,  Earl  of,  99,  in,  189, 
309  n. 

Leland,  J.,  21,  23  et  seg.,  48,  320 
et  seg.,  327  et  seg. 

Lentulo,  100. 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  93,  192. 
Leonicenus,  32. 

Leonicus,  376. 

Leopardi,  The,  235. 

Leo  the  Tenth,  32. 

Leslie,  J.,  295  et  seg.,  315. 
Lewkenor,  L.,  121  et  seg.,  127, 
129,  143. 

Lily,  G„  33,  43,  375  et  seg. 

Lily,  William,  46. 

Linacre,  Thomas,  30  et  seg.,  42, 
44,  46,  49  et  seg.,  55,  185,  188, 
321,  376. 

Litolfi,  219  et  seg. 

Livy,  135,  137. 

Lodge,  P.,  336,  339,  348,  352,  363. 
Lomazzo,  149,  205. 

Longolius,  376. 

Lope  de  Vega,  316. 

Loraine,  Cardinal  of,  47. 

Lucar,  Cyprian,  97. 

Lupo,  190,  350. 

Lupset,  F.,  376. 


Lupton,  T.,  108. 

Luther,  162,  172. 

Lydgate,  4,  317. 

Lyly,  349- 

Machiavelli,  95  et  seg.,  145,  147, 
152,  169,  291  et  passim,  308, 
313,  et  seg.  344,  368  et  seg. 
Majano,  G.  da,  197  et  seg. 
Manetti,  Giannozzo,  16. 

Manners,  R.,  203. 

Mantegna,  77. 

Mantuanus,  B.,  347  et  seg. 
Marenzio,  L.,  349. 

Margaret,  Lady,  193. 

Mari,  J.  de’,  240. 

Marini,  353. 

Marlianus,  121. 

Marlowe,  78,  164,  306,  354,  368. 
Marston,  J.,  108,  166  et  seg.,  351, 
3S3.  366. 

Martelli,  339  n. 

Martin,  A.,  211. 

Martyr,  Peter,  209  et  seg. 

Mary,  Queen,  98,  189,  204,  206, 
210,  272,  374,  377  et  seg. 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  204. 
Matthew,  Sir  T.,  384  et  seg. 
Mazzoni,  Guido,  196. 

Medici,  Alberto  de',  236. 

Medici,  Ippolito  de’,  329. 

Medici,  Cosimo  de',  240  et  seg. 
Medici,  Lorenzo  de',  16,  31,  82. 
Medici,  Piero  de’,  31,  256. 

Mellin  de  Saint-Gelays,  327  n. 
Mendoza,  303. 

Mendoza,  Hurtado  de,  119. 
Merbury,  C.,  106,  295  et  seg.,  315. 
Meres,  F.,  161,  205  n.,  340. 
Michelangelo,  96,  149,  205. 
Michele,  217  et  seg. 

Milan,  The  Archbishop  of,  5. 
Milanese  Traveller,  250. 
Mildmay,  Sir  W.,  100. 

Milton,  358. 

Minadoi,  J.,  309  n. 

Minturno,  358. 


INDEX 


417 


Molza,  329. 

Montaigne,  102,  316. 
Montemayor,  J.  de,  363. 
Montorsoli,  G.  A.,  148. 

Mora,  94. 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  36,  42  et  seq., 
48,  ss  et  seq.,  186,  264  et  seq., 
293,  319  et  seq.,  347,  375. 
Morley,  Lord,  97,  in,  328. 
Morley,  T.,  349  et  seq. 

Morone,  Cardinal,  308. 

Morton,  Archbishop,  42. 
Mulcaster,  R.,  163,  361. 

Mulin,  Adam,  9,  12  et  seq. 
Munday,  A.,  381,  383. 

Musaeus,  354. 

Muzio,  94. 

Nannini,  307. 

Nannio,  349. 

Nash,  T.,  97,  160, 164  et  seq.,  167, 
328,  352,  361- 
Navagero,  91,319. 

Nelson,  198. 

Nennio,  62  n. 

Nicholas  the  Fifth,  20. 

Nicholas  of  Modena,  199. 
Norfolk,  Duke  of,  48,  139,  262  n. 
Nori,  S.,  246  et  seq. 
Northumberland,  Duke  of,  203, 
382. 

Norton,  Master,  15. 

Ochino,  B.,  113,  208  et  seq.,  294, 

365- 

Oliver,  Isaac,  205. 

Ols,  Andrew,  15  et  seq. 

Opicius,  J.,  182,  346. 

Orio,  56. 

Orsini,  Virginio,  99. 

Otto  degli  Gherardini,  230. 

Ovid,  138. 

Oxford,  Earl  of,  74,  79,  hi,  165. 

Pace,  44,  53  et  seq. 

Painter,  W.,  364. 

Palingenius,  M.,  346. 


Palladio,  203. 

Pallavicino,  Sir  H.,  93,  269,  273 
et  seq. 

Palmer,  T.,  125,  131,  172. 
Palmieri,  Matteo,  16. 

Parma,  Duke  of,  95. 

Parr,  Catharine,  98. 

Parsons,  381,  384. 

Partridge,  384. 

Pascale,  339  n. 

Patrizi,  F„  108,  293,  301  et  seq., 
309,  313. 

Paul  the  Third,  151,  208. 

Paulus  Jovius,  215. 

Peele,  349. 

Pecock,  4. 

Pembroke,  Countess  of,  112,  340. 
Pembroke,  Lord,  207,  222. 
Penketh,  Thomas,  39. 

Penni,  B.,  196  et  seq. 

Perera,  G.,  280. 

Perotto,  N.,  19,  33  n.,  36,  294. 
Persius,  332. 

Peruzzi,  The,  238. 

Pessagno,  A.,  236. 

Peter  of  Blois,  9. 

Petrarch,  n,  13,  20  n.,  22,  337?., 
34,  82  et  seq.,  86,  97,  317  et  pas- 
sim, 372. 

Petre,  Sir  G.,  384. 

Pettie,  G.,  109  et  seq.,  166,  353, 
364- 

Pettworth,  Richard,  12,  32. 
Phidias,  148. 

Philip  of  Spain,  381. 

Phreas,  John.  Vide  Free,  John. 
Pico  della  Mirandola,  43,  43,  82, 
293.  34S- 

Piero  del  Monte,  5,  12,  181. 

Pigli,  Gierozo  de,  240  et  seq.,  251. 
Pinelli,  Cardinal,  384. 

Pius  the  Second.  Vide  /Eneas 
Sylvius  Piccolomini. 

Pius  the  Fifth,  382. 

Platina,  24. 

Plato,  s,  32,  83  et  seq.,  343,  336. 
Pliny,  138. 


4 1 8 


INDEX 


Plutarch,  54. 

Pole,  R„  292. 

Pole,  Cardinal,  264,  375  et  seq. 
Poggio,  14,  20  n.,  52,  180,  214,  221, 
225. 

Ponet,  Bishop,  208, 294^^7.,  365. 
Politian,  29  et  seq.,  56,  82,  318. 
Pomponius  Laetus,  46. 

Pontanus,  13,  293. 

Porcia,  Count  G.,  96. 

Portinari,  Sir  J.,  246,  256. 
Portugal,  King  of.  271. 

Praxiteles,  148. 

Primaticcio,  192. 

Primavera,  J.,  204. 

Priuli,  L.,  376. 

Pronan,  J.,  240. 

Pucci,  F.,  2x2. 

Pugliano,  Pietro,  70. 

Puttenham,  321,  325,  358. 

Rafael,  M.,  96. 

Raleigh,  Sir  W.,  no,  112,  359  n. 
Rambouillet,  Marquise  de,  82. 
Raphael,  149,  199,  205  et  seq. 
Raviglio,  218  et  seq. 

Relation  of  England , 218  et 
seq.;  250. 

R6n6  of  Provence,  248. 

Ricasoli,  Rinaldo  de,  194. 
Richard  the  Third,  53,  182,  258. 
Richard,  Duke  of  Cornwall,  233. 
Ridge,  R.,  200  n. 

Ridolfi,  R.,  269,  273,  277,  382  et 
seq, 

Rizzio,  76. 

Robinson,  R„  301. 

Rochford,  Lord,  97,  in,  328. 
Romei,  A.,  62  ct  seq.,  83  et  seq. 
Rovezzano,  B.  da,  197  et  seq. 
Rowland,  D.,  101. 

Rubeo,  307. 

Rutland,  Earl  of,  11,  99,  203. 

Sackville,  111,  367. 

Sackville,  Sir  R.,  162. 

Sadolet,  47. 


St.  John  Chrysostom,  29. 

St.  Paul,  45. 

Salisbury,  Earl  of,  180. 

Salutati,  Coluccio  de',  52. 
Sannazaro.338,346, 348,362  etseq. 
Sanders,  N.,  308. 

Sandys,  E.,  130,  159,  269. 

Sanford,  J.,  371. 

San  Severini,  95. 

Sassetti,  Captain,  95. 

Saviolo  V.,  66,  71  et  seq.,  74  et 
seq.,  94,  in,  170. 

Savonarola,  45,  210. 

Savorgnano,  M.,  96,  185,  187. 
Scacco,  C.,  189. 

Scaliger,  103,  358  et  seq. 

Scot,  E.,  373. 

Sega,  Cardinal,  383. 

Segar,  W.,  64,  67  et  seq.,  74,  76, 
93,  109,  1 14. 

Selling,  William,  29  et  seq. 
Seneca,  367. 

Serafino,  333. 

Serravalle,  John  of,  317  n. 
Shakespeare,  71,  74, 111, 164,  166, 
264.  316,  329,  338,  340,  347,363, 
369  et  seq. 

Shelley,  Sir  R.,  383. 

Shepherd,  J.,  373. 

Sherburne,  Bishop,  198. 

Shute,  J.,  203. 

Sidney,  Lady  M.,  168. 

Sidney,  Sir  P.,  70,  74,  99,  110  et 
seq.,  122,  127,  140,  146,  149,  154, 
159  et  seq.,  169,  192,  336  et  seq., 
345  et  seq.,  356  et  seq.,  363. 
Silver,  G.,  71  et  seq. 

Simon  de  Taramo,  12. 

Sixtus  the  Fourth,  24. 

Skelton,  J.,  318,  320. 

Smith,  J.,  xoi. 

Smith,  Sir  T.,  63  et  seq.,  307. 
Smyth,  E.,  132. 

Smythe,  R.,  364. 

Solari,  201. 

Somerset,  Duke  of,  199,  208. 
Soranzo,  80,  218  et  seq.,  309. 


INDEX 


419 


Southampton,  Earl  of,  99,  102, 
in,  371. 

Southwell,  381. 

Sovico,  G.,  217. 

Spenser,  in,  138,  165,  336  etseq., 
340  et  seq.,  348,  356  et  seq.,  371. 
Spinelli,  Sir  T.,  77,  90,  186. 
Spinola,  A.,  263. 

Stafford,  John,  52. 

Staggio,  Bindo  da,  250. 

Stanley,  Dean,  195. 

Starkey,  T.,  265. 

Stella,  J.  C.,  359  n. 

Steno,  M.,  262  n. 

Stephen,  Master,  230. 

Stowe,  79,  264. 

Straparola,  364. 

Strozza,  333. 

Strozzi,  F.,  251. 

Strype,  291. 

Subtlety  of  Italians,  169  et  seq. 
Sulpitius,  46. 

Surrey,  Earl  of,  97,  in,  319  et 
passim,  353,  358. 

Tahureau,  J.,  169. 

Taille,  J.  de  la,  169. 

Tancred  and  Gismunda,  367. 
Tani,  A.,  247. 

Tartaglia,  97. 

Tasso,  B„  354. 

Tasso,  T.,  105,  191,  338,  340  et 
seq.,  348,  354,  356. 

Terence,  44,  55. 

Terenziano,  G.,  212. 

Theocritus,  348. 

Thomas,  W.,  99  et  seq.,  n 7 et 
seq.,  135  et  seq.,  140  et  passim, 
156,  249,  279,  295  et  seq.,  308, 
31S,  352,  358,  37°- 
Thomas  of  England,  15. 

Tiberio,  Captain,  95. 

Tintoretto,  149. 

Tiptoft,  John,  Earl  of  Worcester, 
17  et  seq.,  23  et  seq.,  33,  40,  314. 
Titian,  205,  363. 

Tito  Livio  of  Forli,  4,  290,  308. 


Tofle,  R.,  339,  356  n. 

Tolomei,  357. 

Torkington,  Sir  R.,  116,  150. 
Torrigiano,  P.,  193  ct  seq. 

Tottel's  Miscellany,  330  et  seq. 
Toto,  A.,  196  et  seq.,  200. 

Toto  del  Nunziata,  195. 
Trevisani,  A.,  215,  262. 

Trezzo,  J.,  204. 

Trissino,  358. 

Trivulzi,95. 

Tuke,  Sir  Bryan,  270,  272. 
Tunstall,  38,  54. 

Turbervile,  G.,  70,  no,  331,  364. 
Turler,  J.,  121, 129, 139  etseq.,  159. 
Tuscany,  Grand  Duke  of,  121, 
206. 

Tyndale,  William,  43. 

Ubaldini,  P.,  95, 97  156, 180, 191, 

205,  217  et  passim. 

Udall,  N„  211. 

Urbino,  Duke  of,  109,  187,  205. 
Utrin,  G.,  197. 

Valatesso,  L.,  262. 

Valdes,  Juan  de,  210. 

Valla,  22,  33  n.  et  seq.,  36,  46,  56, 
294- 

Van  der  Noodt,  337. 

Vannes,  P.,  90, 182,  186. 

Vasari,  197,  206. 

Vaux,  Lord,  328. 

Venuto,  106. 

Vergil,  P.,  59,  184  et  seq.,  240,  289 
et  seq.,  302,  308,  313. 

Veronese,  149,  363. 

Vertomanno,  L.,  280. 

Vespasiano  da  Bisticci,  5,  17,  25. 
Vespucci,  A.,  282. 

Vicario,  179. 

Vida,  346. 

Villani,  238. 

Vinciguerra,  352. 

Virgil,  44,  135,  138,  182,  348. 
Vitelli,  Cornelio,  32  et  seq. 
Vittoria,  F.  de,  188. 


420 


INDEX 


Vittorino  da  Feltre,  4,  53. 
Vitruvius,  137,  147. 

Vives,  36,  57,  376. 

Volpe,  V.,  196. 

Voltaire,  249. 

Volusenus,  Florence,  47,  265. 
Vulpe,  Vincent,  77. 

Walsingham,  Sir  T.,  99. 

Walter  Fitz  Otto,  230. 

Warham,  Archbishop,  44,  53  et 
seq. 

Warton,  365. 

Watson,  T.,  329,  332  et  seq.,  339, 
348  et  seq. 

Waynflete,  Bishop,  53. 

Western,  Sir  H.,  384. 

Whetstone,  G.,  86. 

Whitehorne,  96,  no. 


Willes,  R.,  1 14,  280. 

Wilson,  T.,  360. 

Wiltshire,  Earl  of,  90,  97. 

Winter,  T.,  265. 

Wolfe,  J.,  i9r,  348. 

Wolsey,  Cardinal,  44,  56  et  seq., 
1 13,  183  et  seq.,  197  et  seq.,  266, 
291.  3I4- 

Worcester,  William,  48. 

Wyclif,  24. 

Wyatt,  Sir  T.,  90,  98,  hi,  319  et 
passim,  349  et  passim. 

Yonge,  N.,  349  etseq. 

Young,  Dr.  J.,  193. 

Zepheria,  338. 

Zerlito,  J.,  214. 

Zuccaro,  F.,  204. 


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